


The Secret Of Brooklyn

by parttimewriter123



Category: Newsies (1992)
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, F/M, Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-13
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-02-14 11:18:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 46,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13006665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parttimewriter123/pseuds/parttimewriter123
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal day, leave my home in the morning, walk to school, visit my mother at the hospital where she worked and then come home for dinner with my father. What I didn't expect was finding myself in the Brooklyn newsboy lodging house, face to face with the toughest newsboy out there.





	1. Chapter 1

It was supposed to be a normal day. I was supposed to leave my home, walk to school, visit my mother at the hospital where she worked, and come home in time for dinner with father; just a regular, normal day. However, that’s not what I got.

  
The birds were chirping and the sun was out as I closed the door to my family’s townhouse in Manhattan. I wasn’t startled to see my friend Race who walked with me to school every day. He never went, but he was always more than willing to hear what I had learned.

  
“Mornin’ Lucks!” He called as I reached the bottom step.

  
“Morning Race, and how long are you going to call me that? You know my name’s Alyssa.”

  
“You’re my lucky charm. Since the day I met ya, I’ve been winning more often den not at Sheepshead.” I laughed at his response as we started walking down the street.

  
“You keep this up and you’re gonna be selling more than just your regular hundred papers Race.” The morning was cool indicating spring was here. Spring in New York was one of my favorite times since people could finally be in the streets and parks without freezing their fingers off. It also meant that my school started teaching new topics in classes, and learning new things was one of my favorite activities. For some reason it reminded me of my brother because he was always one for getting involved in anything he could. That reminded me,

  
“Hey Race, have you heard anything of my brother?” He gave me a quick side-glance as he adjusted the cigar in his mouth. I don’t think there was ever a moment where he didn’t have that icky cigar in his mouth. At thirteen he clearly did it to look and feel older than he was.

  
“Danny Boy? Last I herd he was still wid Brooklyn, but it’s been a while Lucks.” My excitement and wonder depleted. “But don’t get me wrong, he’s doing fine.”

  
“How do you know that? The last time I saw him was over a month ago!” He stopped me by putting his hands on my shoulders and turning me to see his face.

  
“Promise me when I say dat he’s fine. The last thing he’d want is fa youse ta go out lookin’ for ‘im.” I missed him, and I was sure that my parents both missed him, although they did a good job of hiding it.

  
“And why’s that?” I couldn’t help but pout, to my credit I was twelve but even still my brother would tell me I’m too old for it. Race sighed and looked nervously around as we passed one of the local parks.

  
“Alright I’ll tell ya, but only if youse keep ya mouth shut. Da last thing I need is for da others to skin me for leakin’ important information.” We stopped in the shade of a tree. “Times in the newsie world right now are dangerous. There are a lotta turf wars happenin’ an a lotta boys goin’ missin’.”

  
“Danny’s not one of them is he?” I jumped at the gun to ask.

  
“Relax, he’s fine but in heat of all a dis, he’s been made leader of Brooklyn. Dat’s why he hasn’t been ‘round lately.” Being a leader of newsboys automatically meant danger, but being the leader of Brooklyn’s newsboys? That was a whole different level of risk. “I sees him every so often on runs and each time he asks ‘bout youse. He’s proud a youse being in school and gettin’ good grades an whatnot.” He gently pulled my arm to start walking again.

  
“So he’s doing good then? Or, as good as a leader of Brooklyn can be?” Race laughed at my question and nodded his head. That was a relief, not so much the fact that Danny became leader, but that he was ok. This was the longest time my family has gone without seeing him, so we were all worried. Or I should say I was worried. My mother worked as an assistant nurse at the local hospital so she would always wake up early and return home late. My father was a worker in a metal factory. We weren’t the richest on the block but we also weren’t the poorest. My brother doesn’t have to be a newsboy, but like I said before, he loves getting himself into new things. Once he saw the life of a New York newsboy, he immediately wanted a part of it. As soon as he joined he was careful to never visit home twice in one week. He didn’t want the boys to out him for living in the lap of luxury, or so he said they would do. Whenever he did visit he would make sure to ask about our parents and me, not talk about himself. I guess he didn’t want me finding out what he was up to, which was odd to me seeing as how we were always troublemakers when we were very little. Still the same at sixteen, I thought as we reached the grounds of my school.

  
“Well, I’ll see youse later,” Race called as he kept on walking, his papers in hand. I said bye before heading through the school gates.

~

  
“How is she?” Danny Boy asked as I rounded the corner. He always did this; make sure to be here waiting for me to update him on his own sister.

  
“She’s good, but she misses ya like crazy. Youse should visit her soon.” He let out an aggravated sigh as he ran a hand through his brown hair.

  
“You and I both know I can’t do that. I’d be putting them in danger,” his aura became very serious as his voice dropped in volume. “So, any word?”

  
“All I knows is that Queens ain’t backing down; theys thinkin’ bout makin’ a move soon. The meetin’ yesterday wasn’t as good as Sniper was hopin’ for.”

  
“Lemme guess, West doesn’t wanna negotiate does he. If he keeps this up then there won’t be no boroughs to fight over. He already has the biggest there is…”

  
“Yeah but not da toughest,” I interrupted. It didn’t do no good for a leader to doubt his abilities. “Brooklyn’s got da strongest fighters in New York, and they ain’t gonna go down without a fight. Youse gonna lead them to victory along with ‘hattan cause dat’s what we’s do, we help each other.” Danny took a minute to think of what I just said before smirking and patting my shoulder.

  
“Sniper’s lucky to have a birdie like you Race,” That’s another thing about Danny Boy: kid was full of compliments.

  
“Aw nothin’ Spot wouldn’t do too, I betcha he’s good no…better than me. Youse know he loves Brooklyn, same how I love ‘hattan.” We both smiled and went our separate ways. That was the one fault Danny had, trusting someone too much. Not that I wasn’t someone he could trust, it just worried me how he was so naïve at times. Sniper wouldn’t be looking to other birdies for answers like Danny was. But maybe that was only because he knew I was close to his sister. There was no way Spot could be a bad birdie, he was always out on the streets always knowing what was happening. Wouldn’t surprise me if one day he’d end up taking the position as leader.

  
“Yeah right,” I said to myself as I laughed while I walked down the sidewalk.

~

  
I never thought school would end, as much as it pains me to think. I was too anxious to visit Brooklyn after visiting my mother. As I left the doors to the main building I saw that the sun was almost gone. I adjusted my sweater and made my way to the infamous bridge. Since it had been a while since I had last seen Danny I was thinking of what he would look like, what his voice would sound like, if he was still the caring brother I remember him being. I wondered how our conversation would go, if he would keep asking me about how I was doing or if he would finally let me know what his life was like as a newsboy. Who am I kidding, he would probably freak out and send me back home if what Race said was true. You know he’s right, I thought. Race would never lie to me, we were too close, plus if he did lie I would know since he’s a terrible liar. Which probably was the reason why he was so bad at cards, he couldn’t keep a straight face when he told a lie. I giggled at the fact and kept walking in the direction of Brooklyn.

  
Streetlights were lit by the time I made it to the other side of the bridge, and it wasn’t long until I saw a kid around my age walking out of an alley. I was about to call out to him until I realized that instead of walking he was running, and he was being chased. Without thinking I ran after them to see where they would go. It wasn’t long until another alley the boy ran down was a dead end and his pursuers were beating him.

  
“Stop, what do you think you’re doing to that kid!” I yelled at the mouth of the alley. The two beaters, who looked a lot older than me, slowly turned and gave me a death glare. Then out of nowhere someone grabs my shoulders from behind pushing me forcefully to the ground.

  
“Who’re you ta give us orders?” He sneered as he came close to me to pick me up. He held me by my neck, my feet dangling in the air, as he walked closer to his two friends.

  
“Hey, leave her alone, I thought youse was afta me!” The boy cried as he tried to get in between the beaters. “She’s got nothin’ ta do wid this!” One of the guys who hit him earlier shoved him hard to the side of the alley making the boy hit his head and fall to the ground.

  
“Thanks Knuckles,” the one holding me said. “Now, why don’t youse tell me where youse from eh? Can’t be from Queens, or ‘hattan, da Bronx is a little too far don’t youse think? Nah, must be from Brooklyn,” as he said Brooklyn his grip tightened leaving a small squeal to come from me. My vision started to blur as I started gasping for air when he flipped out a knife and brought it gently against my cheek. “How would youse feel ‘bout getting’ a new addition to ya face?” he evilly sneered before he and the other two started laughing. Just when I thought he was going to cut me we both got pushed, the sudden jolt taking him by surprise and releasing my shoulders.

  
“Leave her alone Scar!” It was the boy they were after. His piercing blue eyes cut through the darkness of the night leaving me mesmerized. He looked to be the same age as me and slightly taller and he was taking on a guy completely opposite of him. “Youse was after me, not da girl. She didn’t see nothin’.”

  
“Knuckles, Dagger, take care of the little punk while I resume what I was doin’.” My attacker faced me and started making his way over, knife in hand. The boy was quickly grabbed by Knuckles and Dagger and was struggling to get free. I scooted back as far as I could before reaching a wall but that didn’t stop him from reaching down and grabbing my neck again. I tried tearing his hands free of me but he was quick to pull my head back and drive it into the wall twice. I was on the verge of passing out as he pulled back for the third time. Why is this happening? This was supposed to be a normal day. I thought, but who was I kidding? It was my fault this was happening to me. Race warned me not to come because of the turf wars, whatever that meant. I just wanted to see my brother again. I just wanted to see Danny, I thought as I closed my eyes to brace myself for impact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to be sharing this story on AO3! This is my first story on this domain, however Fanfiction saw it first. Don't worry I'll be posting on both equally! You can expect weekly updates in this story since I already have it all typed out. I would post daily but I don't want to miss a day or anything. So weekly it is!
> 
> Please let me know how you like the story so far!


	2. Chapter 2

It was my fault this was happening to me. Race warned me not to come because of the turf wars, whatever that meant. I just wanted to see my brother again. _I just wanted to see Danny,_ I thought as I closed my eyes to brace myself for impact.

Instead of the impact I felt his hand being ripped away from my neck. My eyes flung open to see none other than my brother Danny holding Scar by his shirt and punching him non-stop. Everything that then happened afterwards seemed to be in slow motion. I couldn’t keep my eyes open for no longer than a few seconds as I was on the verge of blacking out. The only things I could hear was yelling that only increased in volume as, I assumed, Knuckles and Dagger went to aid their leader.

“Get her outta here!” I heard Danny yell and soon after I felt hands trying to get me up.

“Come on, we’s gotta move!” It was the kid who was trying to help before. I tried my best, with his help, to quickly get up and as soon as I was on two feet he swooped me up and ran out of the alley.

“Danny!” I called reaching my hand out to no prevail.

“I’ll be alright,” I heard him call back before we turned out into the street. The boy never stopped running until he made it to the lodging house. By then I was holding on to his neck tightly, my face buried in his neck. I felt him set me down on a chair where he knelt and gently took my arms free from my neck.

“What’s ya name?” he calmly asked looking up at me. I was about to answer until I completely passed out.

~

The girl caught me by surprise by passing out on me, yet again. Man, Scar must’ve hit her head good if she’s still passing out. I sighed before realizing I left Danny Boy back there without any help. Without hesitation I grabbed the first guy I saw and told him to round up the boys.

“Gunner we’ve gotta help Danny Boy, he’s in trouble,” I told our second in command. He was Danny’s right-hand man and would know what to do in this situation. In fact, he was going on seventeen years old and already looked like a fully grown man ready to take on whoever got in his way; definitely not someone to mess with. He gave a quick nod and we left, me leading the way, running back to Danny.

When we got to the scene it was bad. Danny was slumped up against the farthest wall in the dead-end alley getting mercilessly beaten by Scar and his thugs.

“Hey, why don’t youse move back ta Queens where the trash belongs!” I inwardly sighed at Gunner’s choice of words. He wasn’t the best at coming up with threatening lines. Scar had a deadly smirk on his face as he turned to look at us, followed by Knuckles and Dagger.

“Come to join the fun Gunner?” his hands were bloody.

“I’ve come ta end it ya piece of shit,” Gunner practically growled as he saw Danny’s condition. It didn’t even look like he was still alive. I was suddenly pushed back by Gunner as he ran forward, picking up a piece of wood that the Queenies no doubt must’ve used on Danny, and attacked them. The thing with Gunner, if you had what he wanted, he could easily get through you; and that’s exactly what he did. It wasn’t long until the three boys were lying in their own pools of blood, still breathing, but not waking up anytime soon. I was quick to join him as he checked on Danny.

“Well, is he ok?” I eagerly asked. I couldn’t believe I asked that, it was clear that Danny wasn’t going to be waking up. Hell, it didn’t even look like he had eyes anymore. His face was so distorted; it would’ve been a miracle if he survived this attack. I slowly stepped back staring in rage at what happened to my friend, the person I looked up to, the one guy I considered to be an older brother. Something within me changed, and it wasn’t for the better. I wanted to get revenge, I wanted to go over to the three murderers and bash their skulls in and then march right up to West and bash his in too. It was too far out of the question to consider not being a newsie. I had to be, my family, what little of them I had left, were in no shape to even think twice about me. This was the life I was both dealt with and chose, and it came with dire consequences.

“Danny? Danny come on talk ta us,” Gunner said carefully shaking his arm. We were greeted by nothing until he forced a breath. It took him a minute of mumblings and stuttering until we were able to understand what he had said, before he passed out for the last time.

“Let’s get ‘im back,” I forced myself to say. It sounded more like a grumbled growl but Gunner understood. I wasn’t surprised to see him feeling the same was as me. We carefully picked Danny’s body up and began our walk back to the lodging house.

~

“Is she alive?”

“Why’s a girl here?”

“She’s too young to be a caller, unless they’re startin’ young now.”

“Nah she ain’t one, look at her clothes, too expensive.”

“She’s moving, let’s give her some room.”

“Got an awful bump on her head, someone get some ice!”

“Keep ya voice down, her head must be throbbin’.” I scrunched my face confused about all the unfamiliar voices I was hearing. It took a minute for me to realize where I was once I opened my eyes. Then the events of the day unraveled before me and I remembered what had happened. Some guy bent down with his hands on his knees in front of me with a concerned look on his face.

 “Youse alright? Ya gotta big lump on ya head, but we’s gettin’ some ice for ya,” he wasn’t able to finish talking before I jumped out of my seat only to fall right into his arms. “Easy there, youse might be dizzy.” He helped me back in the chair keeping a hand on my shoulder to make sure I didn’t tip over.

“Youse remember ya name?” he asked, but just before I could speak it the door burst open revealing the boy. He looked different from how I remembered seeing him only what felt like a few minutes ago. He didn’t look like a young boy around my age, but instead he looked older than he seemed. His eyes were dark and he had a scowl that could scare off anyone. He looked so full of anger, and for some reason it made me sad. A guy came in behind him with a grim look on his face as he called the boys in the room to pay attention to him.

“I’ve got some sad news boys,” he started saying as the boy made his way over to me. As soon as he reached me he knelt in front of me and looked into my eyes.

“What is ya name?” he asked with a sense of urgency in his tone. I was trying to say it but my mouth just kept opening and closing like I all of a sudden forgot it. He was so intimidating.

“There seems to be no end to da turf wars and murders of innocent newsies,” the guy who walked in with the boy said.

“I’m Spot Conlon,” the boy addressed getting my attention back to him. It was like he was trying to distract me from what the guy was saying. To his credit, it probably didn’t have anything to do with me, but I couldn’t help having a fierce desire to find out what he had to say.

“I’m Alyssa, Alyssa Daley,” I muttered right before the guy speaking said the most terrifying sentence I had ever heard in my life.

“Tonight, we lost one of our own, our very own leader Danny Boy.” I felt numb. Nothing else mattered; I didn’t hear anything else that came from anyone’s mouths. I didn’t react when Spot started shaking me, asking if I was all right. I was in shock. My brother, who I was so desperate to see one last time, died tonight after saving both my life and Spot’s life. He was wrongly killed. I knew I should’ve listened to Race. I should’ve listened and not thought to come here at night and I should’ve just stuck to my normal schedule. Why couldn’t I just listen? Why did I have to choose today to decide to break the normal flow and go do something rebellious? Why did I doubt my one closest friend?

“Hey!” Spot was yelling. I didn’t pay attention to him until the third or fourth time he said it. My eyes slowly focused on his, the piercing light blue endless eyes. “Youse alright?” Why would he ask me that? It took me a minute to then understand that he wasn’t asking me he was telling me. “Youse alright, youse is safe here.” He then stood up quickly and grabbed my hand pulling me towards the stairs. We walked down a hallway into a slightly small room that held a single bed, a dresser, a mirror, door to a bathroom, and a singular window with a fire escape out side it. Spot set me down on the bed as he lit the light on the table next to it before going to the opposite wall and leaning against it staring at me.

“Alyssa Daley?” he questioned. I slowly nodded as I stared at my hands in my lap. “You’re Danny’s sister?” I nodded again feeling even emptier than before. “Shit,” he muttered.

“What?” I snapped back in anger. Why did he all of a sudden have the right to be angry with me? I had just lost my brother and he was angry that I was his leader’s sister? His head snapped back to me.

“Youse don’t understand, Danny did all he could to keep you otta this. This is dangerous stuff and…”

“And I don’t understand why someone who’s not even that much older than me is lecturing me about all of this! Just let me go home, my parents don’t even know where Danny is let alone know what happened to him,” I started to get up and head to the door until my wrist was grabbed pulling me in towards Spot.

“You can’t leave, it’s too late and you’re in danger. What part of that don’t youse get?”

“The part where I’m in danger. Who could possibly know me to go after me?”

“Oh I don’t know, maybe da guys that attacked tonight,” his tone was sharp and icy which was very surprising to me.

“Don’t tell me this is all part of your little turf wars,” I sighed in aggravation rolling my eyes.

“Hey,” he called getting my attention. “This is serious stuff. Danny Boy was our leader and now he’s dead. He never showed any signs that he had a family, a wealthy one at dat judgin’ by ya clothes. Up ‘til tonight youse was safe. Now ya got the Queenies afta ya. Yeah it might be a ‘little turf war’ ta ya but this is a flat out war ta us. We’ve lost guys in all boroughs tryin’ ta keep our sellin’ grounds, which I don’t know if ya get happens to affect our jobs. The less ground we cover the less we sell and the less we sell the less money we’s make.”

“If you call a few coins money…”

“Stop talkin’ if ya know what’s good for youse,” he threatened. This angered me even more so I shot up from the bed.

“Or what, you gonna hit me? Someone already did so you wouldn’t be the first. You gonna strangle me? I already checked that off the list. Oh I know, you gonna kill my brother?” That got a reaction out of him, one that made me regret saying the last bit. In two strides he came up to me and backhanded me so hard I fell to the floor clutching my face.

“I was close to ‘im to, so close I considered him a brother. I looked up to ‘im, followed in his shoes; I wanted to be like ‘im. So don’t think that none of us lowly newsies of Brooklyn don’t understand what youse is going through.” We were left in silence, him staring at me still clutching my cheek giving him wide watery eyes when the door opened. It was the guy who walked in with Spot downstairs.

“What’s goin’ on here?” he asked, his presence making Spot move back to reveal myself to him. “Spot what…”

“She’s Danny Boy’s sister,” Spot spat out almost in disgust. “She’s not safe Gunner, no doubt that Queens will be afta her since she saw them in action. They wouldn’t want word ta get out.”

“So youse slap her up?” Gunner demanded.

“Well she pushed me buttons…” Spot mumbled.

“Anything and everything pushes your damn buttons,” Gunner sighed. He took a moment to think before lifting his head to speak. “Alright, she stays.” That made me get up fast.

“What, stay where here? Why, for how long, I have school tomorrow, and my parents won’t know where I am, they must be worried sick right now and…”

“Youse here till Queens is done. They knows what you look like and they’s got birdies all over New York. As soon as you’d be alone they’d attack ya and finish the job. Even the possibility of ‘em goin’ afta ya folks, is that what ya want?” Gunner was in no way nicer than Spot, and I didn’t want to push his buttons as well. I had enough for tonight, and if this was to be my fate then so be it. I’ll stay here until this all blows over, which should be a couple days; that’s all. I slowly made my way to the bed and sat down.

“Good, now what’s ya name?”

“Alyssa,” I mumbled.

“Alyssa,” he took on a gentler tone. “I’m sorry this all happened ta youse, but just know that youse is safe here. And ta make sure youse is safe, I’m gonna have Spot watchin’ youse all day ‘til this is over.” Spot was going to protest before he received a fierce glare from Gunner that said _don’t test me_. “Spot try not ta hit her anymore, its not good for her head,” was all he said before leaving the room, I looked up at Spot timidly in the silence that ensued only to see a hard look on his face.

“Welcome ta Brooklyn,” he muttered before leaving the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I've decided to just post twice a week since literally I just need to upload it haha. I'm so happy people are liking this story so far! Thanks to those who have commented and who have given this story kudos, you're all awesome!


	3. Chapter 3

My life went from normal to crazy in such a short period of time. I never thought I would be able to adjust to the newsie life, but I guess I’m full of surprises. It’s been six years since that night and a lot has happened since, a lot of bad memories, but also a lot of good. I learned how to be a Brooklyn newsie and found out the best places to sell papes. I saw Spot’s transition from a tough kid to an even tougher young man. He definitely followed in Danny’s footsteps, as well as Gunner I mean there was no way he wasn’t going to “inherit” his mean streaks; now Spot was the leader of Brooklyn.

Since that night, we’ve managed many feats including overthrowing Queenies newsies. They had to be put in their place and if it meant replacing their leader then so be it. Without Manhattan’s help we would’ve never been able to do it. Which brings me to my first bad memory, Race finding out about my situation. He was furious for many reasons. What got to me most though was the fact that he mainly felt betrayed, that I didn’t trust him enough to let him know from the beginning what happened. He found out the hard way, and my parents lashed out at him for my sudden disappearance one morning when he went to wait for me to go to school. He seems to claim he got over it, but deep down I know he’s still hurting.

Anyways, now I was known as Lucks. Every newsie needs a fitting nickname, and I was thankful for Race to have already given me mine. I still stayed in the one bed, one window room I was led to from the beginning. It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was the leader’s room, which meant that Danny had once lived in there. To be honest it made me happy that I could see how he lived, and I was able to wear his old clothes whenever I went out to sell papes. That was another thing; I had to be disguised as a boy so as to keep the Queenies in the dark about who I was. Now there really wasn’t a need for me to dress as a boy, but I honestly didn’t have many girl clothes. Plus, it didn’t bother the others or me wearing boy clothes, they knew I was a girl under all that and they treated me as such.

A knock on my door interrupted me from my thoughts.

“Ay Lucks, time ta get up,” Spot’s voice called from the other side. I heard his footsteps leave down the hall to wake up the other boys. _Spot Conlon,_ I thought as I got up. Due to contrary belief we weren’t a couple, although everyone seemed to think we were. Since he was assigned to basically be my bodyguard back when I was twelve, we grew to like…or stand…each other’s presence. In other words, we hung out a lot and just got used to it. I highly doubted that he would have the slightest bit of feelings for me. _The Spot Conlon settling for one girl?_ I laughed at the thought.

When I made it downstairs I saw that everyone was gathered around as if we were having a meeting. I made my way to the clearing just in time to see Spot start his speech.

“Alright, alright,” he called to get everyone’s attention. “Look, I’ve been told this mornin’ that they jacked up the prices.” As soon as he said jacked everyone let out a loud complain. That was the second time this week that the prices increased for the papes.

“How’er we sposed to sell? I ain’t got ‘nough to cover the cost!” Someone complained.

“Hey, hey calm down, look there’s been some buzz in ‘hattan ‘bout them not sellin’.”

“Not sellin’, ya mean they plannin’ on goin’ on strike?” someone else called. That brought about a larger reaction from the boys.

“Look, hey, look,” Spot yelled over the commotion. “Now I knows youse need ta make money, I’m not gonna stop youse from sellin’. Today sell what ya can, I’ll try ‘n find out anything else ‘bout what ‘hattan plans on doin’.” The boys then started mumbling their complaints as they filed out of the room. I decided to stay to try and talk to Spot.

“What?” he asked once we were alone. I shrugged and found a seat across from him.

“Just wonderin’ what you think a this…” I watched his movements carefully and saw that his look of slight shock changed to his signature Conlon grin.

“Ya know it’s still surprisin’ afta all this time to hear your new accent,” he said as he took a seat. I rolled my eyes; my accent definitely came from being here so long. “Honestly I don’t know what to think. If ‘hattan is serious, then that’s another thing, but these are our jobs. If we’s can’t sell we’s can’t live.”

“You don’t think Jack’s serious about goin’ on strike?” I questioned. Now, I knew Jack and I knew his antics weren’t always well thought, but he was always someone to stand up for what they believed in.

“Hard to say at this point, but if he’s callin’ ‘hattan’s shots, that must mean he’s their leader. Which is surprisin’, they haven’t had a leader since Sniper…” Poor Sniper. That brought another bad memory to mind.

“We should talk to Race, see what he knows.” He gave a curt nod before we both got up and headed out the door.

“Still think youse can sell fasta then me?” he smirked.

“Any time any day,” I challenged. “I mean, I did learn from da best.” It was moments like these where I realized I liked Spot best. This was him, the fun guy who liked having challenges, not the guy who always fought and slept with girls almost every night. That disgusting trend started as soon as he became leader. The one thing though was that he was always there for me if I ever had a bad day, which back then was fairly often.

We both got our papes and walked to our sellin’ spots, mine just around the corner from his. It had been this way so that he could easily keep an eye on me incase I suddenly got kidnapped during selling times. It didn’t take long until I successfully sold all of my papes before I joined him.

“I win,” I smirked with my hands behind my back, temporarily forgetting I was dressed as a boy. While it didn’t bother me to be dressed like that, it definitely bothered other people, people more wealthy and distinguished, which were usually the people who bought from us.

“Youse is gettin’ better every day huh,” he asked with a proud grin. I leaned against the wall as I saw him finish up selling. I don’t know why but I always liked watching him. He was so interesting, especially if you knew how angry he could get. It was almost surprising to think that he could act civilized one moment but in the next not hesitate to brutally hit someone who wronged him. “Ay,” he called getting my attention. “Wanna go to Tibby’s?” I was surprised he would ask me to go with him considering we never really went there seeing as how it was in Manhattan. _It’s not a date, he just wants to find out information_ , I reminded myself. I nodded and we started our walk over. We had made it to the docks when Writer approached us.

“Hey Spot, got some ‘hattan boys on there way over, just started on the bridge,” he told us. He was one of Brooklyn’s birdies; well he was when he wasn’t writing something down. The guy was so creative it was a shame he sold the papes instead of writing them.

“Thanks Writer,” Spot nodded as Writer ran back to the docks to our left to jump back in the water. I envied him. It felt like it was the hottest day in New York in my life, especially since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky to cover the sun’s steaming hot rays. “Ya wanna go swimmin’?” Spot asked with a smirk on his face. He must’ve seen my longing look to the cool water. I was about to answer when I saw a familiar group of guys in the distance.

“Can’t, youse got company.” We watched as they got closer until Spot did his annoying leadership thing.

“Why don’t youse go take a seat ova there. We’s can go swim afta we’s is done.” I was gonna argue with him, but I’ve learned many times not to argue with _the_ Spot Conlon, especially when it involved official newsie business. Sighing I trudged over to the stack of boxes and crates and sat watching the guys jump off the dock. Looking over in curiosity though, I noticed I saw a new face I didn’t recognize. Jack and Boots yes, but the guy, who looked to be doing most of the talking, he was new. No doubt he was educated, his clothes were nearly spotless and not nearly as wrinkled as my shirt was. _Maybe he’s like me,_ I thought as they wrapped up their discussion. I snapped back to reality when I realized that I was still staring at them. Spot didn’t come over until after they were a good distance away, probably contemplating what had just happened.

“Well?” I asked once he reached me. “What was it they said?”

“Da ‘hattan newsies are crazy,” he started before sitting next to me. “They’s is serious about this strike. They’s want Brooklyn to join.”

“And?” I pressed. I swear sometimes it was like I was Spot’s right-hand man…or woman that is…

“If we’s join den the otha boroughs are sure to join,” he left his thought hanging as he looked over the water.

“But, we ain’t join’n are we.” He let out a big sigh moving his glance down to his knees.

“I can’t make any quick decisions ‘bout this. They’s need ta show they’s mean business. That they’s gonna stick through wid this ‘til da end, not abandon it come tomorrwa. Until they’s can show me proof they’s are dead serious, Brooklyn’s out.” He had a point. The Brooklyn newsies were always up for a fight, but they had a head on their shoulder. I sighed as I looked out at the water for the tenth time since I sat down. It really did look inviting. I heard a small chuckle to my right.

“What?” I snapped.

“Youse keep lookin’ at the wata, it ain’t goin’ no where. Go for a swim, it’s a hot day no one will think twice a youse jumpin’ in.” I scoffed at him thinking he wasn’t serious I jump in, in my undergarments with half of Brooklyn’s newsies swimming in their trunks. I’m pretty sure most of the guys hadn’t even seen me in a proper dress, and I wasn’t about to flash my garments to them. I’m not _that_ kind of girl. I realized though that he was serious.

“What, youse want me to show everyone my undergarments? Think again Conlon, I might be hot but I ain’t that hot,” I shook my head in playful disbelief. Spot just sighed before forcing himself up; he took my hand and pulled me along to where he was walking.

“Gotta do everythin’ ‘round here don’t I,” he mumbled. We walked to a more closed off section of the dock area; a section where none of the boys were. It was completely void of people.

“There, now ya can swim without da boys knowin’ what’s under dese clothes,” he joked. To be straight up honest, I was shocked that he would do something like this. Spot was Spot; he wasn’t always the caring kind of person. Ask anyone and they’ll say that he’s the meanest around, that he didn’t care about anyone. Well, except for the girls he frequently slept with.

“Ya but youse is here,” I mumbled under my breath. _Why am I becoming so shy all of a sudden?_ I chided to myself.

“What, youse don’t want comp’ny?” I turned to look back at the oh so inviting water. I really did want to swim and get the sweat off me. When I turned back around I saw that he was undressing himself.

“What are youse doin’?” I quickly asked feeling the heat rush to my cheeks for fear I would see something I had never seen. I was fast to turn my back to him.

“Relax,” he casually stated as he took off his shirt and under shirt. “I’m hot…thought I’d go for a swim.”

“Spot,” I said as I started to turn. As soon as I did he pulled down his trousers, making sure he still had his underwear on, before running by me and jumping into the water. “Spot!” I called as I went close to the edge of the dock. He emerged, wet strands of hair in his face, with his grin and bright blue eyes.

“Da wata’s great,” he said as he moved a hand through his hair pushing it back. “Ah, Lucks, best decision I’ve made all day, the wata’s coolin’ me down…feels great” now he was just rubbing it in. I gave him a determined glare before moving back to where his clothes were and snappishly took my outer layer of clothing off. I made sure to make sure nothing was going to be flashed before I took a running start into the water. He was right. It felt like twenty degrees instantly vanished as soon as I hit the water. I let out a sigh of relief as I came up to the surface.

“What’d I say?” Spot said as he swam towards me. I rolled my eyes and splashed him, which was a mistake on my end. Of all the people to challenge, Spot was the worst because he wouldn’t stop until he won. We ended up splashing and laughing at each other until we noticed how wrinkly our fingers were.

“Let’s head ta tha ladda,” he motioned. I followed him the short distance only to stop as he sat on one of the steps. “What’d I say?” he grinned. I sighed and went to playfully hit him when he grabbed my hand bringing me in close. “Well?” I could feel his warm breath hit my face as my nerves kicked into overdrive. I didn’t know why I was getting so flustered around him. While I didn’t grow up with him, we did spend a lot of time together. I looked at him like I looked at Danny…sometimes…the times when I wasn’t thinking about how his lips would feel on mine…or how his hands would feel on my waist…or what it would be like if he leaned in for a kiss… _Wait…that’s what he’s doing now. Snap out of it Lyssa, this is your moment!_ I ferociously thought as my cheeks turned as red as a tomato. Spot was really going to do this, kiss me right here in our undergarments, on the ladder at the docks in the water. Or, he was going to…until he got so rudely interrupted.

“Well, well, well…Knuckles, Dagger, look who we’s found.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I apologize for how long it took me to update this! Things just got crazy busy what with the holidays and all and meeting up with friends and just being utterly exhausted. That being said, I can promise two other chapters will be updated in the next two days! Please leave a comment to let me know what you think of the story so far!


	4. Chapter 4

“Well, well, well…Knuckles, Dagger, look who we’s found.” As soon as the guy said Knuckles’ name Spot froze up with tension, his soft eyes not missing a beat as the meanness seeped in. I was about to look up when he shifted off the ladder and forcefully pushed me behind it so I was under the dock.

“Aw no need ta hide ya girl…”

“What are you doin’ here,” Spot asked in the most threatening tone I had ever heard him use. I could feel my eyes widen slightly out of fear as I tightened my grip on the ladder.

“Neva were one for a good time huh?”

“What the hell are you here for, I’m not gonna ask again Scar.” I looked up through the cracks to see three men. The one speaking to Spot opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. He brought his hand up to drag it on his unshaved cheeks before looking down. It wasn’t long, but we made eye contact, and I understood why he was called Scar. Down the right side of his face was a long jagged scar from his eyebrow down to his cheek. He scared me more than Spot did, but not because of his scar, but because I had seen him before. I could feel the hairs on my body stand; it was like my body remembered him but not my mind.

“We’s is here ta just remind you, time’s almost up Spotty Boy,” he sneered at the end, fully aware of his play of Spot and Danny’s names.

“Ya tellin’ me stuff I’s already know,” Spot practically growled. “Now get outta Brooklyn before I do something I’ll regret.” They glared at each other before Scar made the decision to leave. I was about to come out from under the dock until Spot pushed me back as he stepped up a couple steps to make sure they were completely gone.

“What was dat about?” I asked once he got out of the water. I followed behind to see him with a deep scowl. When I got off the ladder I put my arms across my chest and walked by him. “What?”

“Dey took our clothes,” he snapped as he bent down to pick up his key necklace. “Come on, and keep ya arms ova ya chest.” He started walking back to the lodging house, making sure I was close behind so no one would see anything of mine. We had just about made it to the door without being completely stopped by someone until a familiar voice called out to us.

“Lucks, Spot?” We turned, me still close behind Spot, to see Race looking confused as ever. “What, where are ya clothes?” He was doing a terrible job of hiding his laughter.

“Why don’t we’s have dis conversation inside Race,” Spot snapped still in a sour mood from what happened at the docks. Race didn’t hesitate in following us into the lodging house. “Wait here while we’s change.” It was clear he was still deeply bothered by what happened, which shouldn’t surprise me. Spot was notorious for holding grudges; the only problem though was that I knew I had something to do with it. Something inside of me knew I had seen Scar before, and it wasn’t pleasant. When I was done zoning out thinking about everything and done getting dressed, I went downstairs to see Spot and Race.

“How ya doin’ Lucks?” Race asked as I sat facing the two.

“Good, what about youse?”

“Alright, lost a few at Sheepshead, not happy ‘bout da price a papes but hey,” he shrugged.

“Speakin’ of,” Spot started. “What’s ‘hattan thinkin’ havin’ Cowboy as there leada?” Race sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

“It’s not just ‘im, he’s gotta brain tellin’ ‘im what ta say. Names David, he’s gotta little brotha Les. Started in the newsie business cause his dad’s gotta busted arm.”

"So youse got two leaders?” I dumbly asked. I didn’t mean for it to sound so girly, but my mind has been somewhere else.

“Well, if ya wanna look at it like dat…” Race trailed off as he glanced at Spot leaning on elbows on the table. “What happened ta youse?”

“Scar happened,” he said at a nearly inaudible volume. It was enough for Race to fully understand what he meant and grew very serious.

“Are youse serious?” Race’s face deadpanned. I just sat staring wide eyed at the both of them with my anger almost reaching its boiling point. Spot simply nodded. “What’d they do, what’d they want?”

“Just a warnin’…time’s almost up,” Spot took a slight pause as he moved his hands through his hair pushing it back.

“Shit, forgot about that…” Boiling point has been reached.

“Forgot about what? What’s goin’ on why are these guys so dangerous?” I was received with no reactions. They just sat there trying to ignore my questions. “Someone tell me. What’s this ‘time’s almost up’ crap and why do I get the feeling I’ve seen them before?” That got their attention. In one quick glance to Race, the both got up from the table and started to leave the building. “Spot, Race!” I quickly got up and started to follow them.

“Stay outta dis Lucks,” Spot snapped as they kept walking.

“What aren’t youse tellin’ me?” I practically yelled, getting the attention of a few boys. At that moment Spot spun around and came face to face with me. He hesitated slightly as we both realized just how close we were standing before he spoke sharply.

“Dis is dangerous stuff. If youse get involved den youse will ruin everythin’ Danny wanted…”

“Danny?”

“He did dis ta keep youse safe,” his eyes lingered on mine before he broke it off by turning back around with a frustrated sigh. “An I had ta go an fuck it up.”

~

Race and I talked for a while, most of the afternoon into the evening. We talked about everything, everything that happened that night so many years ago, talked about the possible strike Jack’s trying to organize. The guy sounded insane, but if his so called brain was smart enough to help him pull this off, it would mean wonders for the newsies. We had just started our walk across the Brooklyn bridge when we got talking about Lucks.

“She ain’t know nothin’ does she,” Race said. He didn’t sound too happy, which made the blood under my skin begin to heat up.

“What, ya want me ta tell her everythin’?” I tried not too sound to stern, but I’m not sure that came across.

“That ain’t what I’m sayin’. I just think she deservers ta know dat…”

“Why don’t youse stop while youse is ahead huh?” I had, had enough of people pushing my buttons today. Race was lucky he was smart, at least when it came to conversations that is. He didn’t always have the same brains when racing and money were on the table, but he understood when to back down from going too far. The sun had just about fully vanished from the sky as the rest of the street lamps were being lit.

“Ya know I cares ‘bout her just as much as you Spot,” Race quietly stated as he stuck his hands in his pockets. “If somethin’ happens, not that I’m sayin’ it will,” he quickly added. “But if somethin’ happens ta her…” He left it at that and started his walk back to ‘hattan. I sighed angrily once he left. Of course I’m going to protect Lucks, why would he think otherwise. It was Danny’s dying wish for someone to keep his sister and family safe from the monsters that were once apart of Queens. Though how he ever got so involved was beside me. _Why would he make a deal if he knew he couldn’t uphold his end of it?_ I spat in my head as I walked back to Brooklyn. _Because of that he put his and his whole family’s lives on the line and for what?_ I stopped in my tracks because I knew the answer.

“Ta save Brooklyn,” I mumbled to myself before walking again. _That’s right, if it wasn’t for that deal Brooklyn would have been run down by Queens and none of us would’ve had jobs._ It was a move only a leader could make; endanger the people he loved in order to save the people who looked up to him. Compared to him it’s like I haven’t done anything right. Especially since I had to mess everything up. If only I hadn’t seen what I’d seen.

 

~

I was so relieved to find out that Spot wasn’t back to the lodging house as I snuck in. If he knew I was out so late he would’ve ruptured a vein. The night had cooled off so much that I found it impossible to just sit inside and die of boredom. I passed a bunch of boys heading to their bunks as I headed to my room and overheard their conversation.

“Man, they’ve been goin’ at it fa ova an hour.”

“I heard ‘im smack her good.”

“Wish I’s had a girl a my own ta do that ta.” I rolled my eyes to ignore them and continued on to my room. The only downside about my room was that it was right next to Spots…that meant I could hear every single thing that happened. I understood why the boys were freaking out so much. As soon as I heard the, unfortunately, loud noise, I went straight back downstairs. _Guess some things never change;_ I angrily spat in my head. Today was such an amazing day, that I guess I got too caught up in the hype of it all. So much happened that I decided to find a seat in the meeting room and think about it. My thoughts first drifted towards what happened today at the docks. Those three men that talked to Spot, they seemed creepy yet eerily familiar. I couldn’t place where I had seen them but they all, especially the leader…they just looked like people I knew before. And what they were talking about, “time’s almost up”. When had Spot seen them and made a deal with them? What could he have possibly made a deal about? The turf wars…they had been over for years starting with when Gunner became leader. Soon after I joined Brooklyn the worst of the crimes happened. Many innocent people, mainly boys from different boroughs, were wrongly killed. They were killed in such a way that police were never able to pinpoint who exactly was doing the killing, but everyone in the newsie business all knew it was guys from Queens. Queens was running everything and more, meaning that their leader at the time never knew just what his boys were doing to get Queen’s newsie business thriving.

I’m not entirely sure how it all ended. It lasted the time Gunner was leader, and when it was Spot’s turn, the turf wars were officially done. Each borough, including Queens, returned to running things as they had normally done. There hasn’t been any alarming news until Jack thinking up a strike. It was admittedly a little weird that he, Boots, and his new friend came up to us to talk about it all. I hope Spot will actually listen to what they’re saying. If we can’t sell then we can’t make money, and Brooklyn boys aren’t stupid, they’ll quickly find a way to get money no matter the consequences. Of course if I bring it up to him he’ll just bring up the fact that he can’t just act on what Jack says, he’s gotta prove himself worthy of needing the almighty Brooklyn newsies’ help.

I sighed, as it was time for me to think about the one thing I dreaded to think about at the moment. Fortunately Dig, one of Spot’s birdies, saw me and come up to me.

“Everythin’ alright Lucks?” He sounded concerned, which I appreciated. Out of all of the newsies, Dig was probably one of the few guys I could call a friend.

“Just tryin’ to prolong headin’ up to my room,” I said in a defeated tone. As soon as I finished he just nodded his head in understanding. We sat a little bit in silence, the pounding still happening if you really listened for it.

“Ya know, he does this ta get rid of ‘is stress,” he leaned towards me so I was the only one who could hear what he was saying. “He don’t care ‘bout them one bit; don’t take it ta heart.” That made me feel somewhat better, because deep down I knew that, but it still hurt. I gave a small grateful smile as a thank you and got up to go upstairs. The one place I could just get away from people for a little bit was the roof. It was the best time of the day too; the cool breeze the night gave was just enough to get you to forget about your troubles. I planned to quickly pass Spot’s room and head into mine where the fire-escape was but that backfired just as I reached my door; the girl he decided on tonight was just coming out of his room and we locked eyes for a moment. She just gave a rude shrug and smirk to me, almost as if saying, “It was me tonight and not you”. I just rolled my eyes, slammed my door and headed towards the roof. When I reached my favorite spot to sit, I basked in the silence, which unfortunately didn’t last very long.

“Hey,” Spot innocently said as he stood behind me. I didn’t bother to greet him, or even acknowledge his presence. I heard him sigh as he started to approach me. “What’s…”

“Don’t even bother askin’ me what’s wrong. I ain’t tellin’ you,” I spat, still without turning around. During the silence I could tell he was assessing through his head of what could possibly make me upset.

“Is it about those guys from the dock today? Look, they’s is bad news, I can’t tell ya anythin’ else.” I quickly got up and turned around to angrily face him.

“No it ain’t, but sense ya bring it up,” I could see his aggravation setting in as his shoulders slumped down. “What’s that deal they mentioned huh? I thought wars and stuff were done? What’s happenin’ wid tha boroughs now huh?”

“Nothin’,” his voice slightly raised but he quickly caught himself. “Look, the deal was somethin’ made years ago, they’s just remindin’ me that it’s almost time fa it ta end.” I was about to ask what exactly the deal was but he caught me before I could. “What are youse really mad at?” I instantly got quiet and turned my back towards him again. It didn’t take long until I could hear the light-bulb go off in his head.

“Don’t tell me youse is mad cause a that girl…” he started waiting to see my reaction, which I didn’t give. He gave a slight laugh. “Youse is mad cause of a girl Lucks, really?”

“What do you know anyways?” I angrily spat as I started to make my way back to the fire escape. I could tell he was following me from his close steps.

“You know I take girls Lucks, dat’s nothin’ new,” we crouched through my window and entered my room where I stopped at my dresser. “What are ya really mad at?” I could feel him close behind me, his breath practically on my neck. I just sighed, turned and quickly pushed him back out of my face.

“Like I would tell you. You probably wouldn’t even care!” That got him angry; anytime he got pushed, didn’t matter by who, it would release the Spot Conlon everyone feared.

“I just wanna know why youse is so mad at me for,” he spoke lowly trying to contain his anger.

“Why do you wanna care now about how I feel? You clearly didn’t just a few hours ago!”

“What youse want me ta hook up wid ya?” He asked incredulously. The look of shock and slight disgust on his face was enough fuel for me to go up to him and smack him across his face. It wasn’t long for him to retaliate and backhand me right back making me fall to the floor. With my hand close to my cheek I glared right into his blue, blue eyes.

“It’s been years since you’ve hit me…” I first mumbled in shock. I recovered quickly just before saying, “Get out. Get out.” I could tell he was just as shocked as I was. Tears were threatening to fall but I held them back as I got up and pushed him. “Get out!” I yelled. After pushing him out and slamming the door in his face I crumbled to the floor balling my eyes out. He made me furious, and after tonight, he made me realize one thing: I hated his guts. I hated his guts so much I didn’t want anything to do with him ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter as promised! Check back tomorrow for the fifth chapter and please feel free to leave a comment to let me know how the story is going!


	5. Chapter 5

_In the pale morning sunlight, she was with me in my bed, wrapped in my arms. Her light dirty blonde hair covering her beautiful hazel eyes made her look like a gentle angel. I could stare at her forever and not get tired of her. It wasn’t long till she fluttered her eyes open to look up at me, a smile stretching over her face._

_“Morning,” she whispered as she moved over to place a kiss on my lips. I was quick to return it as I adjusted her on my hips. “Someone’s feisty,” she giggled as she moved her hands over my chest. I gave her my signature smirk before pulling her in for another kiss. She broke it off quickly and trailed kisses down my neck, chest, and hips before reaching my now throbbing member. She carefully took it in her hands and started messaging it before taking it in her mouth. As soon as she did I released the deepest moan I had ever given. None of the other girls had ever made me feel that way, make me feel completely lost in the most sensual way. The building sensation within me was quick to reach its peak and erupted as soon as she took it in her mouth one last time. My moan felt like it started from the bottom of my stomach and made its way up…in other words, it was_ loud.

When I opened my eyes I saw that I was alone; there was no sunshine, only pale morning clouds. She wasn’t with me in my bed, not in my arms, not giving me pleasure…when I looked at my hand I saw it covered. _Great_ , I sighed mentally realizing that it was me who did all that. It wasn’t long until a knock came on my door.

“Hey Spot youse alright?” _I guess my moan was louder than I thought._ “Spot?”

“Yeah, Writer I’m good,” I said as I started to try to clean myself up. “Go wake up the boys…tell ‘em same as yesterday.” I sighed as I got up and headed to the bathroom to shower. As the cold water ran down through my hair and body my thoughts went to last night. I don’t know why I acted like an ass; maybe because I never thought of her like that until just now. Lucks…Alyssa…No, I couldn’t do that to her, not after the deal, not after Danny. When I was done and dressed I left my room to knock on Lucks’ door to find it still locked.

“Lucks, hey its time ta go,” I said gently. “Lucks…”

“Go away!” she called from the other side. I sighed. _It’s gonna be a long day._ I made my way downstairs and saw some of the boys sitting around. With the jack in the price it was getting harder for them to sell.

“Hey Digs,” I called after him as he was heading out the front.

“Yeah?” he asked once I caught up.

“I need ya’s ta watch ‘hattan today. See what it is they’s is plannin’ ova there.”

“No problem Spot,” he agreed without hesitation.

“Thanks; hey how many is sellin’ today?” I already knew the answer but wanted someone to tell me.

“Not that much, they’s ain’t got da money. Some a dem are plannin’ on leavin’ tonight, find some other way of livin’.”

“Shit.” That’s what I feared; I knew these boys and none of them were stupid. They all had brains and with that, they knew other ways to make money whether it meant having a criminal record or not. We needed more eyes on Cowboy and his guys. If they weren’t serious about this strike, then all of us newsies were going to be out of business.

“Get as many with ya, as soon as somethin’ important happens high tail it back here an let me know.” _Shit, why the hell am I always sounding so mean?_ I thought after Digs nodded and ran off. He was lucky he knew I liked him, he understood my temper and how I dealt with things…unlike someone I know. Speaking of, it wasn’t like her to stay in her room, let alone lock it. She always liked being one of the first ones up and ready to head out and sell, or just get out of the lodging house. Maybe I really did push it too far… _Fuckin’ hell_ , I thought as I roughly ran my hands through my hair. I can’t afford to think about her at all, it’s too costly to everything I built with Danny. _Maybe it would be easier to just tell her everything…_

“Damn it!” I yelled kicking a chair over and startling some left over boys. I needed a drink, and it wasn’t even eight in the morning; this really was going to be a fucking long day.

 

~

I was up early just laying in bed thinking. I hated it, thinking so much. It was starting to annoy me because I knew I was at the point where I was overthinking everything. I sighed as I turned to my side facing away from the window. The way the bedroom was laid out was my bed, a single, was against the wall, the window opposite from it with the fire escape. My dresser was just to the right of my door, which faced the bed. The room overall wasn’t the biggest, it was actually quite small. Spot’s room was slightly bigger only because it used to be the owner’s room. The building was previously a small mini factory, but the owner sold it out and left years ago. At the moment I really hated being in my room, because my bed was against the same wall as Spot’s, which meant I really could hear _everything_ happening in there. Like how I could hear his moans happening right now… _That’s it,_ I thought as I started to get up. How dare he still have a girl in his room after what happened last night? He let out another moan making me pause, sitting on the bed. I had to admit, it did sound nice…another moan sounded, this one louder than before. _He’s alone…_ the thought hit me like a ton of bricks because I realized two things. One, I was the last person he saw last night after I shoved him out of my room. He went right into his and proceeded to sigh in frustration multiple times before going to bed; and two, that girl left when I got back. He was pleasing himself; the Spot Conlon was alone in his room pleasing himself. I couldn’t believe it. My face completely flushed red as I inched closer to the wall. Once I reached it I carefully and quietly placed a hand on it and soon after he let out one final, loud, moan. My eyes were wide at what I just heard. If anything could ever make me feel so aroused, that was it.

“What the…” I mumbled to myself, as I lay paralyzed in bed. In all the time we had been each other’s neighbors, he had never done that before; at least not to my knowledge. He always had his guard up no matter where he was, until just now. It was probably the first time I had ever seen, or rather heard in this case, him be so vulnerable. It made me wonder if he moaned like that when he was with those other girls… _Not with the girl he had last night,_ I smirked as I started to get ready. I was almost ready when I realized that if he was pleasing himself, which meant he had to be thinking of someone. _What if it was me…_

“Hey Lucks, it’s time ta go,” I heard him call from my door, interrupting me from my thoughts. “Lucks…”

“Go away!” I yelled trying to hide my embarrassment. I hadn’t meant to yell but my impulse reacted before my brain. He let out a sigh and left probably already irritated at me. I groaned in annoyance as I finished putting my clothes on before sneaking downstairs; the last thing I wanted to happen was be confronted by him.

When I got down I noticed Digs leaving, and an angry Spot kicking over a chair before storming out himself. I waited a little bit to make sure he was gone before I quickly went after Digs. I never got the chance to thank him for what he said last night, because in all honesty it did make me feel better. I caught up to him by the bridge crossing over into Manhattan.

“Hey Digs!” I called as I reached his side.

“Lucks, everythin’ alright?” he asked, his concern seeping into his words.

“Yeah,” I casually said as I walked in step with him. “I just wanted ta thank you for what ya said last night. Spot was jus getting’ ta my head.”

“No problem, I jus didn’t wanna see youse upset cause he was wid some girl. The boys and I all knows youse two are gonna end up togetha.” He smiled at the last part and I gave him a playful punch.

“Yeah right,” for some reason I gave a slight laugh even though deep down I was both embarrassed and hopeful that it would happen. “Anyways, where ya headed?”

“‘Hattan, he wants me ta see jus what it is they’s is up to.”

“Mind if I’s come along?” He gave me a skeptical and worried look. “What, youse think somethin’s gonna happen?”

“Well ya neva know. Supposedly they’s mean business, they’s is plannin’ some serious stuff and it may have some violent consequences.”

“So youse don’t want me wid ya huh,” I sighed dejectedly as I stuck my hands in my back pockets.

“Look, youse and I both know that if anythin’ were ta happen, especially ta youse, then Spot would loose it. He’s been dead serious ‘bout keepin’ youse safe eva since Gunner told him to. He’d probably lose it if youse got hurt.”

“Yeah well I’m a big girl now, I don’t need ‘is services anymore.” I crossed my arms over my chest and kept walking with him. I felt him gently tug one of my shoulders back making me face him.

“I jus think it’s best ya not follow me.” He gave one tight squeeze before letting go and running off, disappearing before I could see where he went. No wonder he was one of Spot’s best birdies, the guy was practically invisible when he wanted to be. I was so close to throwing a mini tantrum in the street but thought otherwise. The only thing that seemed remotely interesting was just walking through Manhattan, and that’s exactly what I did. If I happened to bump into any of Jack’s plans then so be it, I just needed to stay away from Spot for the day.

 

~

_Why am I here?_ I thought to myself for the thousandth time since I left the lodging house. I was deep in Queens looking for the leader of the dangerous trio that plagued my life for so long.

“This is stupid,” I said to myself. If they ever found me here it would be tough getting back without a scratch. I gave a frustrated sigh as I fast walked toward the building. A post office, why out of all places would the old leader of Queenie’s newsies be working in a post office? I nodded in disbelief as I walked in. A receptionist greeted me at a desk near the side of the room.

“Hello, what can I help you with today?” she sounded to fake, but I wasn’t going to call her out on it. We all have jobs to do, even if we don’t like them.

“Yeah, I’m lookin’ for a guy named Wes…Clyde…?” I stuttered on my words temporarily forgetting West’s actual name. The woman’s face dropped a little as if to question why I would ever want to speak to West instead of dealing with more important matters such as distributing mail, but I let it slide.

“Follow me,” she curtly said as she got up from her desk. We went behind the main counters through a back door, down some stairs, through another door and ended up in what looked like a dungeon…but what was really the basement. “He’s through the last door on the right.” Before I could even thank her, cause I’m such a gentleman, she was gone.

“Figures,” I breathed under my breath. A dirty, ragged newsboy comes into a pristine post office, asks the lowly receptionist to take him to a nobody who so conveniently works in the mold, rat, and damp infested basement, and leaves before he can even thank her because the conditions are so bad. I just shook my head as I preceded down the hall to the last door on the right.

“There he is,” I said as I leaned against the doorway. West was sitting hunched over a desk full of stacks of mail. “The oh so mighty former leada of da Queenies.” He looked up with the most evil glare anyone had ever had the nerve to give me.

“What’d ya want Conlon, I ain’t got time fa shit,” he growled as he sorted through the mail.

“Youse know why I’m here. It’s ya boys…”

“Don’t tell me it’s that fuckin’ deal youse made.” I didn’t answer and stared coldly at him before he almost erupted in a loud sigh. “What do youse expect me ta do huh? It’s between youse an’ them, I can’t get involved.”

“Yeah, well how else am I supposed ta protect her? It’s almost time…”

“Not my problem, youse know dat once they’s set their mind ta somethin’ they’s do it no matta what. Don’t even think ‘bout gettin’ da police involved eitha.”

“Wasn’t plannin’ on it, still got nightmares from what happened last time da police was called on ‘em. Look, I’s just need some background on ‘em, there’s gotta be a way ‘round dis deal.” I didn’t know when, but a desperate tone set in my voice, which shocked both West and me. He sat up and stared almost contemplating on whether or not he should help.

“Youse really care ‘bout her don’t ya.” I was quick to avert my gaze from him to the wall to hide my scowl of confusion. Yeah I cared about Lucks, but recently whether I cared about her for her or for Danny has been confusing me. In the beginning I did it for Danny, but now...I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I’ll tell youse what, make a new deal wid ‘em. They’s won’t like it but unless it can top your previous one, then youse is in da clear.” I perked up at his suggestion. “Up the risk factor an’ put your full trust on somethin’ dats happenin’.”

“Somethin’ like what?” A playful yet sly smirk spread across his face.

“Somethin’ like the newsie strike Cowboy’s plannin’.” I gave him wide eyes, shocked that he knew what was going on. “What, youse think dat I’s don’t have birdies still?” He gave a slight laugh. “C’mon Brookie, once a leada, always a leada. Now scram, some of us is still workin’ here.” I bit my tongue and left; he gave me the help I needed. Not even a second after I reached the street Digs ran up to me, short of breath and panting hard.

“Spot…scabbers…fight…’hattan’s losin’…da strike…” He didn’t need to finish. In that moment I knew what I needed to do. I sent him to get more boys from Brooklyn before running to Manhattan. Cowboy was serious; the strike will happen, Brooklyn will help. A new deal will be set in motion. _Jack I sure hope youse is dead fuckin’ serious ‘bout dis,_ I angrily thought in my head; because Lucks’ life was on the line.


	6. Chapter 6

“Why ya wanna follow me around huh?” Digs joked as we turned a corner.

“’Cause I’s got nothin’ betta ta do,” I replied with a big smile. “Besides, I’s think youse could use da company.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah really. Must get lonely spyin’ on ‘hattan all alone.” He let out a small chuckle as we briskly walked down the sidewalk.

“Was before da strike. Now there’s somethin’ new happenin’ every minute!” I found it somewhat sad that he was so excited about this, but he really had no choice. Things were either slow or fast if you were a newsie, and most of the time the boys liked it fast. Yeah they had their slow days; couldn’t sell all your papers cause of a bad headline, had to sell in the rain, or when there just isn’t anything to do. The latter was a little more impossible to believe to me. How could there not be anything to do in a city as big as New York? I just shook my head to myself with a grin playing on my mouth just in time for me to bump into Digs.

“Hey why don’t youse use ya eyes?” he playfully joked. I hadn’t realized he stopped walking and had hit my head on his back. We were standing in front of a ladder to a fire escape that had been left down.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I mumbled trying to hide my embarrassment. “We’s goin’ up there?” I gestured my finger up to the roof.

“I would correct youse and say that _I’m_ going up there, but you’re just gonna follow me so yeah… _we’s_ is goin’ up.” I laughed at his slightly confusing sentence as we started climbing up. The best view for spying was always from above, hence why they were always called birdies. When we got to the roof I almost gasped in shock at how beautiful the sight was. I could see Brooklyn in the distance. For some reason even thinking of Brooklyn as home made me feel nostalgic. Home wasn’t there; it was with my family here in Manhattan. With my mother and father in our two story townhouse and picket fence. I had almost forgotten that I never grew up in an all boys lodging house, getting up early every morning before dawn to get and sell papers. I grew up going to school, being excited to learn about anything and everything, and having warm dinners with my parents. It was almost enough to make me cry.

“Hey, youse ok?” Digs asked snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yeah, yeah,” I quickly said before joining him near the edge. “Anythin’ happenin’ yet?” We had an almost perfect view of Jack and his gang out front of their distribution center. Digs let out a hum as he looked to see that they were standing in front of the closed gates.

“They’s is definitely plannin’ somthin’…wait…da gate opened…oh shit, they got da scabbers waitin,” Digs kept narrating everything as it happened even though I was right beside him. Jack was forcing his boys not to sell, to start the strike, and then the scabbers, who were no doubt thugs, went after them.

“Digs ya gotta go tell Spot, they’s need help!” I yelled as I noticed Race in a fight with a guy. Digs quickly nodded in response then bolted down the fire escape leaving me on the roof. I couldn’t do this; it felt wrong to not help. I had to do something, so I built up the nerve and ran down the fire escape to help the boys.

“Race!” I yelled over the commotion. I managed to high tail it in the mess before the gates were closed shut again.

“Lucks? What the hell are youse doin’ here?” he screamed in shock before punching a guy in the face.

“I’m here to help…”

“Help who? Ya gotta get outta here it’s dangerous!” _What does he mean ‘help who’ he’s fighting and needs help_ , my thoughts screamed in my head.

“No I can’t…” I couldn’t finish my sentence because I was so rudely interrupted by a shove and quick punch by someone. It was enough to bring me to my knees. _And I thought Spot hit hard,_ I thought as I brought my hand to my cheek. I could feel tears coming but they were quick to pause as I got kicked down. There were tongs of feet around me, both knowingly and unknowingly beating me up. I was trapped, and there was no question that some ribs had broken. It felt like it would never end. I was so sure that this wasn’t how I was supposed to die, being trampled to death at a newsie strike gone wrong. Time felt like it was going by so slowly, until a shout rang through the alley making the noise dim.

“Have no fear, Brooklyn’s here,” Spot called. The stomping abruptly stopped around me and for a split second it looked as if boys were falling from the sky. I realized I wasn’t too far off since they were sliding down on lines.

“Lucks!” A familiar voice called before reaching the space I was in and getting rid of the enemies surrounding me. He helped me up and it wasn’t until then did I see that it was Writer. I thought I said his name but for some reason it sounded like a big mumble.

“Easy now, I got ya,” he calmly said in the sea of fighting boys and men. “We’re goin’ back ta Brooklyn,” he said before picking me up and charging out of the mess. He carried me the whole way back, and I was glad he did because I was positive I passed out a few times. My eyes opened just enough to see that we were going up the stairs to my room. Somehow he managed to open the door and pull my blankets down on my bed before placing me gently on my back.

“Rest up, I’ll getcha some water,” he said as he took off my shoes. I mumbled some more incoherent sounds before passing out yet again. _I’m so weak._ So weak that I can’t even help my friends when they’re in trouble. I can’t even protect myself from getting hut without Spot around. In fact, I always seem to get hurt whenever we’re not together. _Even when we are together sometimes…_ I scowled to myself at the thought. He would never hit me just to hit me and make me feel bad. He just can’t control his anger sometimes, and it doesn’t help that I always provoke him. I always have it coming cause I can never listen to directions. For some reason I always have to break the rules, and it’s because of that that I end up getting hurt.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been out for, but when I opened my eyes I saw that it was nighttime; a cup of water sat untouched next to my bed. I sighed disappointed I had missed most of the day and started to move to sit up. It was in that moment when I felt searing pain throughout my whole body did I remember that I wasn’t in the best of shape at the moment. I let out a frustrated groan and plopped my head back onto my pillow, mad at myself for forgetting all about the fight this morning. _I wonder what happened to…_ I was about to finish my thought until my answer came knocking at my door. It opened slowly and gently before I could respond bringing in Spot.

“Hey,” I mumbled from my bed. He closed the door behind him and stood facing me, an unreadable look on his face. _He was mad_.

“What was youse doin’ in ‘hattan today?” he growled holding back his anger. I didn’t understand why he was so upset.

“I was…”

“Fightin’ a fight that isn’t yours no doubt. Why were youse there?”

“I was…

“Youse could’ve gotten yourself seriously hurt. Ya lucky ya got away with a few bruises.” He was trying so hard to keep his voice in check. I waited until I was sure he wasn’t going to interrupt me again.

“I was just tryin’ ta help. I couldn’t just watch from afar and do nothin’, an’ bruises? How ‘bout a few broken ribs, I can barely move without everythin’ hurtin’.” He scoffed at me before trudging his way over to my bedside. I didn’t question anything until he started to straddle me.

“What are youse doin’?” I stuttered beyond belief. I could feel my face getting red showing my embarrassment at how I couldn’t contain my sudden startled state.

“Relax, I’m just seein’ if youse got broken ribs or not,” he said as he soothed his hands on my sides. I tried to do as he said but the feeling of his hands on my body was too much of a distraction; the longer they stayed there unmoving, the more tense I got. He let out a sigh before trying to move his hands under my shirt.

“Spot!” I gasped in shock mainly from the pain I got from bolting my hands to stop his.

“Just relax and trust me Lucks,” he said gently with sincere eyes. I hesitated before nodding slightly and moving my hands back. He took his hands out from my shirt and went to unbutton it. I was surprised he wasn’t laughing at how beat red my face was. Never in a million years would I ever stop to think of Spot unbuttoning my shirt as he straddled me on my bed. His hands were so gentle too, like he thought the slightest bit of pressure would add more damage to me. I was scared to see his face once he completely unbuttoned my shirt to see that I had remembered to wear my camisole today, but he showed no remorse; in fact, he kept a genuine firm face. _He must know how embarrassed no…_ nervous _I am right now,_ I thought as he then slid his hands up my silk camisole. I got goose bumps as his hands got closer up my sides moving over to my back. I only stared into the gorgeous blue eyes before me, getting lost in their deep depths of mystery.

“Looks like just some bruisin’,” he said gently keeping his hands on me.

“How do you know?” I whispered trying, and failing, to compose myself. That’s when his signature Conlon smirk appeared.

“’Cause if I do this it’ll hurt,” he said.

“Do what…?” he gently squeezed my sides making me take a sharp inhale in. “Ow!” I said flinching in response. He let out a small laugh before gently moving his hands back out from under my shirt. “Why’d ya do that?”

“Ta prove youse only got bruising.”

“An’ if I’s didn’t?”

“If youse had broken ribs, youse would’ve been screamin’ as soon as I’d a touched your side.” He sat up and got up from straddling me to move and sit by my feet on the side of the bed. We stayed like that in silence until he turned his head towards me.

“So why were ya there today?” It was weird to see how quickly his anger had dissipated. It was so evident that he was furious when he came in, but it was all gone now.

“I followed Digs,” right after I said his name he slowly and resentfully turned his head back and his knuckles turned white. “Calm down, he tried ta get me not to follow,” I sighed while nudging his lower back with my leg. _I just couldn’t stay here after what happened last night;_ I wanted to add but didn’t feel like having that conversation tonight. He tilted his head down to look at his fists; I could tell he wasn’t going to go after Digs so I relaxed a bit.

“So what happened after you guys got there?” He didn’t bother to look at me as he spoke.

“We managed ta push ‘em back, but they got one a ‘hattan’s before any of us could get ta ‘im.” That shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did, but I had an urgent desire to know who it was. “It was Crutchy.” The empty feeling in my stomach eased. It was wrong for me to think that Crutchy being taken was ok, but I was glad it wasn’t Race. Spot let out a small laugh while he briefly shook his head.

“This whole thing is messed up,” he started. “Jack’s gettin’ us mixed up in his business.”

“If youse think it’s messed up then why’d ya help ‘em?” I was quick to say. “Don’t tell me that youse disagree with his reasoning.” He tilted his head back up towards the ceiling.

“I’s just can’t believe that it’s Cowboy runnin’ everythin’; that it’s all happenin’ now.” I was surprised at his somewhat sad tone he was using. It was almost like he was reminiscing, which wasn’t like him at all. Of all the things Spot hated doing, which was a lot, the one he hated most was thinking and talking about his past. _Why is he acting like this,_ I thought as he stood up.

“I’ll let youse rest, youse is gonna be sore tomorrow,” he said as he walked toward the door. He fished in his pocket, most likely looking for a cigarette. Any time he needed to really think about something, he went somewhere private and smoked.

“At least I won’t have ta worry ‘bout sellin’ tomorrow,” I called as he opened the door. He gave a small laugh before carefully closing the door. _I wonder what’s on his mind…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just a note as I upload chapters: when I was writing this it had been a while since I had seen the movie. That being said, the story has a few chronological mistakes! Just thought I'd warn you all now cause I'm not sure when I messed up and I'm not gonna fix it (don't worry it's nothing major but for those who pay attention to details haha)


	7. Chapter 7

_What the fuck was Lucks thinking?_ I thought as I walked down the candlelit street. I took a long drag from my cigarette before sighing. I’ve been doing that a lot recently, but things have just been building and building. Today was a lot what with me visiting West, helping Manhattan fight off the thugs, and seeing Lucks…god she looked terrible. I had never seen her look that bad since that night. I took another long drag. All of that happened today, and tonight I had to pay my monthly visit. My feet just guided me to where I had to be and in no time I found myself on the steps in front of the dimly lit brown door. _Here goes nothing,_ I thought as I took a final drag and got rid of my cigarette right before the door opened.

“Hey,” I muttered staring cautiously at a woman who could be easily mistaken for my sister.

“It’s been a while Sean,” she chided as she pulled me in. “Ugh, you smell like smoke, how old are you now, fifteen? You’re too young to smoke it’s disgusting,” she joked. My Aunt Del, short for Delany, was my mother’s sister who moved to New York with my mother from Ireland shortly before I was born. Years after, when I was around the age of ten my mother went back to Ireland because of her health, leaving me with Del…until I ran away…

“Relax, it’s only been a month. I visit ya once a month like we agreed,” I sighed as I sat down at the dinner table. Even though I left her, and was found by Danny, he convinced me to go back to her at least once. In that time there was a lot of yelling, a lot of tears, and a lot of hugs. The Spot Conlon back then was nothing like the Spot Conlon I was now. It actually made me angry at how pathetic I was when I was a kid; so dependent on my ma until she up and left cause she wanted to be surrounded by family while her health deteriorated. It was messed up, but what else is new.

“You hungry, I have some soup still warm,” Del asked already grabbing a bowl for me. I didn’t have to answer as she set it in front of me. It smelled so good, just like home. “So,” she said sitting across from me. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” I said once I swallowed a spoon full of my childhood. There was nothing but good memoires whenever I had this soup.

“How is the newsboy business, I haven’t seen as many out in the street, is everything ok?” I took a minute to pause from my bowl of happiness, giving her time to understand, before I even said anything, that things weren’t as good as they should be, her perked up eyebrows grew serious.

“They’ve upped the prices a papes so it’s gettin’ harder ta sell. There’s talk of a strike occurin’,” I mumbled the last part because I knew she’d overreact like any other regular parent would. I tried not to let it bother me that she cared and was interested about my life and well being, unlike my own mother.

“My goodness, well is it happening? It better not you know how dangerous strikes can be. You’re all too young to be going on strike…”

“If we’s don’t do this then we’s could loose our jobs!” I snapped. “Most of the boys got skills that criminals wish they had. If they don’t have these jobs, they might as well be sayin’ goodbye to the world and hello to a life behind bars!” _If we don’t have the strike, then I’d have to think of another way to save Lucks_ , I thought with a distant look. I took a minute to catch myself before adding at a much calmer tone, “Plus accordin’ ta youse I’m too young for everythin’.” Del sat back stunned at my sudden outburst. She had learned a long time ago to let me yell when I wanted to or else I’d never get calm. Once I got heated it was hard to get me to cool down, unless I decided for myself; I hate taking orders from people.

“There’s something more,” she muttered with a sparkle in her eye. She too donned the familiar “Conlon Smirk” which snuck on her face. “You care about someone.” Her statement caught me off guard for a brief moment.

“I’s care ‘bout the newsies and everyone in the lodgin’ house,” I said defiantly.

“No, no, no,” she said as she stood and walked around her seat leaning on the back of it. “You care about a girl.” I gave her a quick look of shock before avoiding eye contact to prevent showing her my no doubt beat red face. _How do women do that?_

“I’m right aren’t I,” she said with sudden excitement. She rushed around her seat to sit back down with her elbows on the table, much like how an excited kid would do. “Well, what’s her name, is she a newsie too, does she live in the lodging house?”

“Alright,” I said slapping my hands on the table as I stood up. A part of me loved Del, but a majority couldn’t stand the amount of questions she could ask. “I’s better get goin’.” She was quick to get up and meet me in the hallway to the front door.

“Oh come on, at least let me know her name,” she begged as she held my elbow back once we reached the door. It must’ve been a funny sight to see: a teenage boy being held back by his short aunt, who could easily be mistaken as his older sister, with pleading eyes. I composed myself by giving her a grateful smile before kissing her forehead.

“I’ll see youse next month Del,” I said gently, moving slowly making sure she would let go.

“Sean,” she called once I was down the steps. I unknowingly looked around to make sure no one was around to hear my name being spoken. Just like Danny, I had a family to keep safe, an identity to protect. If any of the boys, _any_ of them found out about my name, Del, or even where she lives, they would all have an advantage on me, and as the leader of Brooklyn I couldn’t allow that to happen.

“Be safe,” she said before giving a curt smile and gently closing the door. The times I visit Del are always the times I wish had never happened. It brought back too much pain afterwards, and it was hard for me to think about something else, hard to think about anything really.

As I walked in the direction towards Brooklyn I found myself looking up at the sky a lot. The streets were empty and no one was around, the perfect time to walk in the middle of the road. My only companions were my never-ending thoughts and the starry night sky above me. It wasn’t until the breeze picked up did I realize I was near Brooklyn. These walks back were the only time I could truly think and not care about anything that was happening; I could just walk. _What about Lucks?_ That made me stop dead in my tracks.

“What?” I said out loud mainly to myself since I was the only one around…that is until someone answered back.

“You heard me Brooklyn,” Scar said. I turned around with as much attitude I could muster to hide the fact that I didn’t even know he was there, none other than dumb and dumber accompanied him.

“Actually no I didn’t, all I’s heard was da sound of the breeze…”

“What the hell’s wrong wid ya,” Knuckles said as he quickly moved to shove me back. I wasted no time in landing a punch on his jaw, that was definitely gonna hurt in the morning. Dagger wasn’t the fastest to react but he managed to grab my arm and lock me in place as Scar gave a few hard punches to my stomach.

“Ya got some life in ya huh?” he sneered as he wiped away at his lip.

“What do ya want,” I angrily spat as I struggled against Dagger’s death grip on my arms.

“We heard word that youse paid a visit to our dear ex-leada,” he paused as he punched me again in my gut. “An well, we’s was just curious ‘bout what youse two talked about is all.”

“Like I’s would tell youse.” That landed me another punch to the gut. I was surprised at this point that he hadn’t whipped out his knife; after all he didn’t earn his nickname by throwing punches around.

“Why don’t ya ask West instead a houndin’ me,” I spat in between punches. _Maybe I should be grateful it’s Scar throwing punches instead of Dagger,_ I thought. _I’d rather have bruises than broken bones._

“Hey Scar, I’s got an idea,” Dagger sneered quickly getting Scar’s attention. “How’s ‘bout we go an ask that girl little Brooklyn was just with?” _The hell he just said,_ I thought trying to compose myself. _How?_ I could feel the pit of my stomach drop to my knees.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Scar thought. “I was thinkin’ ‘bout the girl from the docks. She seems familiar to youse both?” Dagger and Knuckles nodded, a glint of excitement in their eyes. It scared me to know what they were thinking. “Looked awfully like the girl from the night we got rid of Brooklyn’s trash leader huh,” his companions agreed with him as he leaned over to me. “Am I right Spotty Boy?” I glared at his snarky disgusting face before giving him a hard head-butt that seemed to not faze him. In fact he laughed as he held his forehead and stepped back. He kept laughing almost as if inviting the others to join him, which they did until he yelled at them to shut up.

“Let’s go,” he growled while glaring at me before walking towards the lodging house. I struggled to go after him until Knuckles landed a big hard punch to me knocking the wind from my lungs. It was such a hard punch it brought me to my knee. That’s when Dagger finally let go and joined the others. _Fucking great_. If I don’t go after them, they’ll get Lucks, and if they actually know about Del…I didn’t want to take any chances. I had to make the new deal West mentioned, whether I doubted it, which I did severely, or not it was the only sure thing I had left to keep everyone safe. I regretfully pulled myself up to my feet, my arm tight around my stomach, and staggered a few steps before gathering enough energy to call to the trio who were almost a couple yards away.

“Scar!” I was relieved to see them stop and slightly turn their heads as if listening for what I had to say. “What about another deal.” That really got their attention. Knuckles and Dagger quickly looked in question at Scar who slowly turned around pondering the thought.

“What would you propose Spotty Boy?” They started walking closer to me. I tried to straighten up but the pain was too much.

“Youse heard ‘bout the strike right?” Scar gave one nod before I continued. “Newsies win you forget ‘bout the whole thing, we lose…youse get everythin’.” I could feel my heart beating a thousand times per second as I focused on keeping my cool serious demeanor. They had to take this deal, or else things would go to shit. _Things will still go to shit if we end up losing…_

“Youse so confident in this strike?” Scar started as he walked in circles around me, eyeing me down. “Youse really think people, the public, will care ‘bout lowsy newsies, no… _kids_?” I responded with a long hard stare. The silence was almost unbearable as he thought about what to do. I honestly didn’t know what Scar would choose, one minute the guy would support one thing and the next he’d beat it to shreds for no reason. If their former leader knows them as well as he says he does, I’m gonna have to seriously thank him.

“Alright,” Scar said stopping in front of me. His decision shocked not only me, but also his two goons beside him. “I’ll take da new deal, owning Danny Boy’s girl _and_ Brooklyn’s too good to pass up my friend,” he sneered as he patted me hard on my shoulder. I tried not to show my disgust, or really any emotion for that matter, as he stuck both hands in his pockets like a happy-go-lucky kid. “Let’s go boys.” I watched them with a hard stare until they turned a corner before releasing my breath I didn’t know I was holding.

“Holy shit,” I muttered to myself, relieved they weren’t heading toward Brooklyn anymore. I was still so shocked they took the deal that I took my hat off and brushed my hair back with my hand letting out another relieved sigh. _Don’t get your hopes up; they could always be lying,_ I thought. While it was proved true that they like making deals, they also found great pleasure in breaking them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies I totally thought I uploaded this two days ago but turns out I just saved it in drafts lol...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually one of my favorite chapters in this story just so you know hehe

I was up on the roof again, relaxing as the cool night air blew through my hair. The commotion downstairs was starting to be a bit much. Ever since the boys got back from the fight in Manhattan they had been celebrating, what they considered to be, their win. I had to get away from it since it was hard to sleep with the noise. As I looked down over the long never-ending streets, barely lit by the street lamps, I noticed a figure struggling to walk. It took me a minute to realize it was one of our own, as they got closer to the lodging house. I nearly busted a rib as I jumped up from my seat when recognized that the hurt newsie was Spot. Without hesitation I dashed to the fire escape, down the stairs and into my bedroom window, all while ignoring the pain I was still in. By the time I opened my door to head down the stairs he was already halfway up.

“Spot,” I gasped in shock that he looked pretty bad. He slowly picked up his head to look up at me as he paused on the stairs. It became clear in that moment that his arrival must have stunned the partying boys below because it was almost dead silent. It wasn’t long though until he continued trudging up and brushed past me to his own room.

“Spot,” I called again, my anger starting to seep in. _The roles have been switched,_ I thought as I appeared in his doorway. “What happened to youse?” He didn’t answer me as he slowly and painfully tried to sit down on his bed. I sighed to myself before stepping into his room and leaning on the wall.

“What are youse doin’?” he asked sounding very strict.

“I’m waitin’ til youse tell me what happened,” I stated as I crossed my arms over my chest. He just scoffed at my reply while unbuttoning his shirt.

“Youse sure youse wanna stay here while I undress?” It was then that I noticed a red stain on his under shirt. I quickly got off the wall and forcefully made my way over to him, bending slightly to grab his hands. I held them away from his body so I could see what his damage was. He was tense, but I couldn’t tell if it was because of my sudden burst of courage or because of his severe looking injuries.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked suddenly very concerned about him. “Stay here I’ll help clean you up.” I didn’t even wait for a single word to come out of his sarcastic stubborn mouth as I headed towards his bathroom to get a wet cloth. I wrung the cloth in the sink before realizing that my hands were shaking. When I looked up in the mirror it surprised me that tears were trying to form. _What’s wrong with me?_ I questioned as I pulled myself together; I was both scared and nervous. Maybe it was because I had never seen Spot look this bad before in my life. Maybe because I had always assumed he would be the one to take care of me, instead of me take care of him. He was always there for me whenever I got hurt, either that or prevented me from getting hurt. But now I had to be there for him, and my hands were shaking?

“Stop it,” I whispered to myself before sobering up, turning off the water and leaving the room. Once I was back to his side he sighed and tried pushing me away.

“Stop Lucks, I can take care a myself…”

“No, you can barely lift your arms. Here let me help you take your shirt off.”

“Lucks I said…”

“I don’t care what you said,” I snapped back at him. He no doubt could see the tears threatening to fall and my face turn a beat red for no reason. “Let me help you.” He paused slightly surprised and shocked but was compliant for me. I pulled his button down off his shoulders and gently took off his bloodstained under shirt.

“Ya know, youse loose your accent when ya mad,” he said calmly just as his shirt was coming over his head. I gave a small pout as I dropped his shirt to the floor.

“I’m not mad,” I sounded somewhat defeated, drained suddenly of my courageousness. It took a lot out of energy to be so forward; I wasn’t used to it.

“No, youse is nervous huh,” he guessed staring at me. “Ya hands is shakin’.” I hadn’t noticed; I was too distracted by the huge black, blue, and bleeding marks all over his torso. _Well-defined torso…_ I ignored his comment and started cleaning up his wounds. He never verbally complained or whined, but he did flinch at some sore spots. _I wonder how many times he’s been beaten up before…_ I hated myself for thinking that. What if Danny went through the same things when he was leader? Who would do this to Spot if the turf wars had long been done with? Clearly something was left unresolved, that was the only reasonable conclusion I could think of. I moved to his back hoping the damage couldn’t get any worse than the other parts of his body but I was wrong. He flinched more when I was cleaning his back than he did on his front.

“Who would do this to you?” I asked mainly to myself but I knew he heard. The only people who came to mind were the men who approached him the other day. “Don’t tell me it was those guys from the docks.” His head tilted down at that point, and it was more than enough for me. I immediately stopped and moved myself in front of him placing my hands on his shoulders to make him look at me.

“Why did they do this to you Spot? Please tell me, I can’t take it anymore. I can’t stop thinking about them and the things you’re hiding from me. Just please tell me what’s going on!” I flinched a little once I realized that my voice had risen, but I couldn’t stop. It was time for me to find out the truth.

“If I tell youse then I’d be ruining what Danny set up fa youse and ya family,” he said with hard steel piercing eyes. I let go of his shoulders to prevent myself from smacking him and let out a big sigh.

“I hate to break it to you Spot, but Danny isn’t here, I am. I have a right to know what concerns my family and me. What had Danny been hiding? Why are you saying this? I know I’ve seen those guys before, it wasn’t my first time seeing them at the dock…” I got interrupted by a loud exhale from Spot before he muttered,

“Those guys killed Danny.”

 

~

The look of utter shock and fear crossed her face as she backed up until she hit the wall across from me; her shaking started up again.

“How…how could you keep that from me?” she asked practically wide eyed.

“I was doin’ it ta protect youse. They’s is dangerous people not to be messed with…”

“Then how come they went after him, why did they kill him, why are they after you?” she was basically screaming almost in hysterics. _Guess now is as good a time as any_ , I thought, bracing myself for how she’ll react.

“Because of you,” I started. She was about to question me again but I cut her off. “Because of you and your family. Danny did everythin’ he could ta keep the ones he cared about safe.” I let her think about what I just said for a little bit before continuing. “I’s don’t think youse know just how wealthy your family really is. Why do youse think ya lived on such a well kept street? Why do youse think ya went ta a nice school?” This last question was going to hit her hard. “Why do youse think Race was always there?” Just as I thought, she snapped her head up to meet my gaze.

“No, Race wasn’t like that, at least…”

“At least after he met youse. The whole reason he was over there in the first place was ta sell and pick pockets.”

“No, you’re just saying that!”

“Ask ‘im next time youse see ‘im. He doesn’t do it anymore, found more success at Sheepshead, but I ain’t makin’ this stuff up.” I took a second to think before continuing on with the past. “Those three guys, Knuckles, Dagger, and Scar, theys found out ‘bout ya family and confronted Danny ‘bout it, threatened to rob ya house, steal youse, even kill ya folks.” She gasped as more tears fell down her beautiful face. It pained me to see her like this, but it was time for her to know. “Danny made a promise, that as long as he was living you and ya family would be safe. That happened just before turf wars wid Brooklyn and the Queenies started. Just before Queenies started killing innocent newsies. It wasn’t long til they confronted Danny. They got a good beatin’ in until Danny proposed a deal, if Brooklyn won the turf wars then they’d leave him and ya family alone forever.”

“That’s not what ended up happenin’ though,” she mumbled waiting anxiously for me to continue. I shook my head.

“About three months later is when they came for ‘im, when that night happened. After I got youse here, me and Gunner went back to get ‘im. He was still alive when we got him. Managed to say something too before passing.” I could tell the thought process going through her head. The person she saw nearly everyday for the past five years held the final words her brother said before dying.

“What’d he say?” she mumbled with her head down.

“ ‘Protect my family, my sister Alyssa Daley, protect her,’” she nearly collapsed down the wall, her hands covering her tear stained face. For some reason every inch in my being yearned to go over to her and comfort her, to wipe away her tears and hold her close to me.

“That’s why Gunner instructed me to protect ya.” I wanted her to know that she was safe as long as I was around. She wouldn’t be a slave to Knuckles, Dagger, and Scar. Her family will be kept safe and continue to be uninvolved with the newsie life. _You’re getting soft,_ I warned myself as I just sat and watched the one girl I cared so much about ball her eyes out.

We stayed like that for some time until she started quieting down. It took me a minute to realize that she was falling asleep on the floor. The action was almost enough to bring a slight smile to my face, but I shrugged it off. I got up, completely ignoring the searing pain coursing through my body and shuffled to her side. I sucked in a deep breath and positioned my arms around her. _This is gonna hurt,_ I thought, bracing myself before carefully…and painfully, picking her up and slowly moving over to my bed. As soon as I was sure she was at least on the bed, I succumbed to the darkness that was quick to haunt my eyes.

 


	9. Chapter 9

I woke in the middle of the early morning. The first thing I saw was not the window I was so used to seeing in my room, but instead the back of Spot’s head. As I sat up I realized that I was still in his room, lying on his bed, with Spot sprawled somewhat haphazardly across half the bed, meaning my body, and the floor. Looking closely at his sleeping arrangements, the lower half of his body was completely off the bed, like he had fallen where he was standing. _Why?_ I thought as I lay back down. As I was doing so my arm managed to brush against his side. Almost as soon as it happened he flinched so much he almost fell off the bed. I had forgotten the fact that he was in a bad fight earlier in the night. Without thinking I grabbed his arm and shoulder and pulled him up. Not only would he be in more pain than he’s in now, but he wouldn’t hesitate to blame me and probably kick me out of his room. I’m not sure which I was more worried about…it didn’t take long of me just pulling him until he unknowingly situated himself so that he was now fully on the bed. This also meant that I was his pillow, or at least my chest was. With his arms wrapped around my body and one of his legs intertwined with mine, I couldn’t complain.

We had never slept in each other’s beds before. I was surprised I didn’t push him off the bed after what happened last night. I should be angry, no…furious that he kept so many secrets from me. Normally it wouldn’t bother me that he kept secrets, but it involved too much of my life for me to think nothing of it. _What if he’s still keeping secrets?_ I shook my head at myself. It wouldn’t benefit me brooding over it. It happened, now it was time for me to get used to it. Get used to the fact that I had to be careful again. The guys from the dock, Scar, Dagger, and Knuckles…they were the same ones who beat me up…the same ones who murdered my brother. _I know they’re still after you_ , I thought as I looked down at Spot. _Still after me…_ I had no doubt that they knew I dressed as a boy by now. They did steal our clothes when we were at the docks, unless for some miracle they mistook them for another boy’s. _Yeah right_. I let out a sigh as I thought about my life. It was crazy to think that I grew up as a normal girl, with a normal family, in a normal neighborhood. But now that was all gone. I was the girl pretending to be a boy newsie who could, most likely, never see her parents again for fear that they’ll be targeted. I don’t know how newsies did it. I don’t know how Spot did it.

“What was your life like before you met me?” I whispered out loud to Spot, knowing he wouldn’t answer.

 

~

A part of me wanted to respond to her question, but I could tell she thought I was still asleep. For the first time in a long time I felt relaxed as she subconsciously stroked my hair back continuously. It made me feel so at ease, like I didn’t have to worry about anything. A feeling that reminded me of home. Ireland. There’s really nothing I remember from my homeland. To my knowledge, I would say I was born and raised Brooklyn. But I know that’s not true. I know at least my aunt did her best to make sure I grew up knowing that my family and history is back in Ireland; that some day I would go home. While I believed her, I never thought she was serious about me leaving Brooklyn. I know my family is over seas, but this is my home. It wouldn’t feel right not being here. There are too many memories. _More bad than good…_ I reminded myself. I chose to ignore that fact. I chose to ignore every bad aspect of my life. That’s what made me a leader. By not caring about the things that upset me, I grew to be strong and careless. _Until I met her…_ I sighed mentally at myself for being right. Ever since I met Lucks, I could feel myself becoming less of a leader and more of a provider. I felt like I was becoming weak, that I was losing my reputation of someone you shouldn’t mess with. _But maybe that’s a good thing…_ I was a tough kid, even more unforgiving than I am now.

Before Lucks joined the Brooklyn newsies, it felt like every man for himself. You had to do what you could to provide for yourself, make sure you had enough money for food and a roof over your head each night. Then she came. The first few weeks were tough as we got used to each other. She was a feisty one at first but as we both got comfortable with how things were going to be, she became more subdued. For some reason, she made me feel calm. She opened my eyes to realizing that while it is every man for themself, there are other people that can be there for you. It took me some getting used to, mainly because she kept hounding me to let her know what I was thinking. She still does that, but it was even more annoying when we were younger. I mentally shook my head at the thought when I realized that she had stopped moving her fingers. _Must’ve fallen back asleep._ I took this moment to finally open my eyes. _This really is a comfortable position._ It made me crave to have this moment happen again, but I was sure that might never happen. I started to carefully push myself up and looked up at her sleeping face. For the first time, I felt my stomach somewhat drop. I had never felt that feeling before, but it definitely reassured me that if anything were to happen to Lucks, I would never forgive myself. _She makes me weak when it counts, that’s for sure,_ I smiled to myself as I continued to carefully get up.

I quietly walked over to the bathroom to check on my body. There was no doubt that there’d be bruising, I already knew that from the pain searing through my whole being. I unwrapped the work Lucks did on me last night. Just as I suspected, big blotches of blue and purple lined my torso from my ribs and lower. I didn’t even want to look at my back. _Guess I’ll wrap myself up,_ I thought as I started the painful process. I couldn’t have the boys seeing everything through my shirt. They couldn’t know there was much more on the line with this strike, at least for Brooklyn. When I finished in the bathroom and walked back into the bedroom I was stopped. I felt my stomach drop again. _She’s beautiful_. Shaking my head, I carefully walked to the door and left with a sense of determination in my stride.

 

~

The warm bright sun met my eyes almost forcing me to wake up. My moment of confusion didn’t last as long as when I first woke up to Spot lying all over me. Right away I knew he wasn’t in the room because the sun was too high in the sky and there was no pressure on me. I sat up in the bed and adjusted my hair so it wasn’t a crazy mess. After I went back to my room to change, I realized that it was too quiet. _Is something wrong?_ I thought as I headed downstairs. I was relieved to see Writer in the common area.

“Mornin’ Writer,” I greeted as I sat near him. He looked up from his writings slightly surprised to see me.

“Hey Lucks,” he gave a small chuckle as he pointed to a nearby clock. “It ain’t the mornin’ any more.” I almost did a double take; it was well into the afternoon.

“Why didn’t anyone wake me? I almost yelled. Spot knew I hated sleeping in. Ever since Danny I always liked to wake up earl so I wouldn’t miss anything going on.

“Hey don’t get mad at me, just followin’ orders,” he said defensively with his hands up.

“Spot?!” He knows how much I hate sleeping in. “Where is he?” I didn’t bother holding back my anger as I somewhat quickly stood up.

“Why…?”

“So’s I’s can murder ‘im,” I joked as I rolled up my sleeves. Writer only laughed at the funny spectacle I was making. I eventually joined him and took my seat again.

“Anyways, where is everyone?”

“All out probably celebratin’,” he said nonchalantly.

“They’s is still celebratin’ the fight?” I asked incredulously. Although I shouldn’t be surprised, if they could they’d celebrate all the time.

“No they’s is over that, Spot got ‘is picture in a pape.” I didn’t mean to give a look, but I guess I did because he started to laugh a little. “It was taken right after the fight. Looks like we’s got a journalist on our side!” It made me happy that he was excited about that, but every journalist works with a paper.

“Why would he risk his job for us?” I mumbled.

“’Cause we’s is makin’ a difference. We’s are getting’ word out ‘bout what’s happenin’ to us. People are startin’ to listen.”

“Youse is startin’ to sound like a walkin’ mouth,” I joked.

“What can I say, the guy was right ‘bout everythin’; with Cowboy’s help…we’s may actually win this strike.” That was the newsie dream wasn’t it? We sat in silence almost as if imagining what would be different if we won. We looked like two goof sitting in the middle of the room with smiles on our faces.

“Why aren’t youse with everyone else? And don’t tell me it was just to keep me company.” The amicable feeling suddenly became more serious as his smile slowly faded.

“Spot told me to stay with you while he was out,” he said. I could tell he was confused as to why Spot would have him be with me. It actually made me more frightened than before. I didn’t think it would be so serious for me to have a bodyguard again.

“Are youse alright?” he asked me, no doubt seeing my ghost of an expression. I was too disturbed to say anything, so I resorted to just slowly nodding my head while I stood up.

“Just…just let me know when Spot get’s back,” I said almost monotonously. “I’ll be on the roof.” He nodded a slightly weary nod before seeing me walk to the stairs.

If I needed a body guard again that could only mean that those three were looking for me again. Why else would Spot order, not tell but command Writer to stay here with me? _I thought this was all over?_ I shook my head. Once I reached my window, about to open it, I froze. They could be watching me right now, just waiting for me to get to the roof. My hands slightly trembled as I slowly backed away. _No,_ I thought as I straightened up. _This is ridiculous._ I gave a big sigh of frustration and hit the wall next to the window before moving back to my bed. Before I knew it I felt tears streaming down my face. The fact that I was reacting this way almost made me regret ever being relieved Spot told me everything. Maybe things would be better if I didn’t know about them…I just shook my head at myself as I lay down in bed. _I have to accept things as they are,_ I thought to myself. _Even if they do suck._

~

The guys were all crazy after finding out we made it in a pape. We finally knew what it felt like to be kings of New York, even though we all knew it was only for the day. We were just leaving Tibby’s wen Jack decided to walk with me.

“I’s guess that guy Denton knows what he’s talkin’ ‘bout huh?” Cowboy asked.

“Yeah, I’s guess so.” We walked in silence a little bit more.

“Alright look,” he started, standing in front of me making me stop. “I’s been thinkin’.”

“Yeah youse been doin’ that a lot lately,” I said as I moved around him. He sighed and moved back in front of me.

“I’s been thinkin’ ‘bout havin’ a rally for da newsies.”

“A rally huh?” I asked in sarcastic wonder. “An where ya think you’ll have it? Ain’t no place gonna have a bunch a rowdy newsies for free.” I moved around Jack for the second time to continue my walk. Sure enough he cut me off for the third time. Before he could even open his mouth to make the slightest peep I gave him the hardest, coldest glare I could.

“Cut me off one more time an see what’ll happen ta youse.” I then started walking again.

“Sorry,” he said as he caught up to my stride. “Look me an Davey are already setting things in motion. Medda said we’s could meet in the theater, even said she’ll do a few songs to help support us. Other boroughs will be there too…”

“Other boroughs huh?”

“Youse know as good as I’s do that they won’t join unless youse do.” That made me stop in my tracks. I knew he was right, but the way he said it made it sound threatening. If I had the nerve to I’d side with him right here and now. It was obvious to me that if I didn’t do it I would let down not only Danny, but also all of the Brooklyn newsies. I would let down Lucks…

“When are youse plannin’ on havin’ it?” I asked, still frozen in place.

“Tomorrow night.” I thought for a second before turning towards him.

“You’ll know where I’s stand then.” I left him with that hanging. If he knew the situation I was in, he’d understand that my actions were for the sole purpose of keeping up my reputation.

It didn’t take long for me to reach the lodging house. When I got there it wasn’t long for me to find out where Lucks went. All Writer had to do was point up to the stairs.

“Lucks?” I called through her closed door. “Hey Lucks…” The door swung open to reveal a tear-stained face. “Lucks,” she was quick to engulf me in a tight hug. I was surprised to feel her trembling as her tears soaked into my shirt. I tried my best to calm her as I gently lead her back in her room after closing the door. We sat on her bed, my arm wrapped around her shoulder. I sure was glad none of the boys could see me, they’d severely doubt my leadership if they saw me acting soft. To be honest though, it felt nice…I got snapped out of my thoughts when I felt her wiping away at her tears.

“I’m sorry, “ she sniffed as she started to sit up. “I didn’t mean to…”

“Don’ apologize,” I said almost surprising her. My tone of voice wasn’t as kind as I thought it was. “It’s ok to be scared.”

“But that’s it though!” she exclaimed as she got up. It was easy to tell that she was frustrated. “I hate how useless I am all of the time. You leave Writer here o follow my every move, to make sure I don’t get in trouble while you’re out on the town, like I can’t do anything! How do you think that makes me feel?”

“What youse is blaming me fa dis?” A strong part of me regretted asking that cause it only added fuel to her fire.

“Don’t even start with me, this whole thing is you’re fault! You hid all of that thinking you were protecting me, but what you were doing instead was endangering me even more! If you had told me sooner we could’ve already solved this problem a long time ago instead of now.” She was furious. I can’t remember the last time I ever saw her this mad, if there ever was a time. Maybe I should’ve told her sooner, I admit that, but what about how I felt during all of that? I put my hands on my knees and bent my head down to face the floor, her presence towering over me.

“Well? No witty comeback?”

“Youse want a witty comeback?” I mumbled under my breath before snapping my head up. It was my turn to yell now. “The fuck about how youse feel now, what about how I felt all those years holdin’ all that information in huh?”

“You didn’t have to!”

“I saw my best friend murdered in front of my eyes! He practically died in my arms, his blood on my hands!” I was standing now. “Youse really think I wanted to remember that night ever happened? That I wanted to relive those moments over and over again, cause that’s what woulda happened if I told youse. Youse is scared bout Scar an his boys after youse now, jus think how youse would’ve been if I told youse then huh? Probably woulda gotten you an your family killed…”

“Don’t blame me for something that never happened! You don’t know what I would’ve done if you told me about them sooner. Maybe I would know how to fight and kill them all myself.” Her comment made me laugh more than it should have.

“That why youse is mad at me? Cause I left Writer here so he could protect youse cause I know youse can’t fight?” The staring match had begun with her glaring almost as coldly as I was. “Bullshit Lucks, you wanna know the real reason why I left ‘im here? To make sure youse didn’t get yourself into any more trouble. That’s the last thing I’s need to happen to you.” The only noise to be heard in the room was the panting from both of us. She was shocked that I had said that, and I was impressed I could come up with a lie that was as good as the truth, because the truth was I wanted someone here to make sure she was safe if Scar and his thugs did show up. If she knew that she would’ve never calmed down as much as she was now. “The last time I left youse alone youse almost got yourself killed in a fight. With Scar lookin’ for trouble I needed someone to make sure you didn’t find it.” My tone was gentler as I took a sigh while pushing my hair back. When I looked back at Lucks I saw that she was trying to fight tears again. I tilted my head to the side and opened my arms out to her to engulf her in another hug. It really did hurt me to see her like this, crying all because of me. Let’s face it, almost every time she cries it’s my fault. Somehow it’s always my fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I read through this chapter and noticed how many grammar errors there are and I just wanted to say that this whole story is not edited...in case you all didn't already know that lol. Also I'm gonna try to upload every MWF! We're almost to the half way point of the story so get ready for more drama haha


	10. Chapter 10

We were on our way to the rally, a good handful of the guys and Lucks. It didn’t seem right to leave her alone yet again. Who knows, maybe she’s just better off staying with me? One thing I knew for certain, if Scar and his guys didn’t try anything tonight, of all nights, then they’d strike at a later time. I shook my head to myself as we entered the building. There was what looked like hundreds of newsies all over the place, in the lobby, on the first floor, in the balcony. Jack certainly knew how to draw a crowd.

“Hey Spot!” Jack called as we entered the theater. “I was startin’ ta get worried there. Come on!” I had little time to process what was happening as he dragged me away from my guys.

“Lucks, stay wid Brooklyn!” I called just before slipping through a doorway. One second we were in a theater packed full of newsies, the next we were backstage where we joined the Walkin Mouth and Medda.

“Youse weren’t kiddin when youse said other boroughs huh,” I said as I fixed my sleeve Cowboy pulled.

“Spot we’re really glad you came tonight,” the Walkin Mouth said. I knew he had a name, but I forgot what it was…

“Yeah well I’s still don’t know what to think.” I didn’t want them to get their hopes up, although I had already made my decision well in advance. We didn’t get much time to talk until Medda pushed us out on the small stage. The whole place was almost pure madness, newsies cheering and yelling everywhere. It was one of the first times all the boroughs actually came together like this, and I gotta say, it was pretty impressive. I took a quick scan of the room to find the Brooklyn section and was pleased to see them to my left in the box seating. _Nothing but the best for Brooklyn._

 

~

It was crazy how many people were here. I never even knew how many newsies there were, considering I had rarely left the Brooklyn and Manhattan areas. I was getting excited with all the commotion going on.

“Hey look, there’s Spot,” Writer pointed out to me as they walked out on stage. It was him, Cowboy, and that guy who talked to Spot at the docks. They started talking, but I couldn’t pay attention. My mind was buzzing. For some reason, I was just realizing just how much of an influence Spot had on the other boroughs. This whole rally was just to show everyone what side Spot was going to choose, which thinking about it now, meant that Jack was risking a lot on this. I couldn’t imagine Spot saying no now that he’s seen all of these people here. This was the most exciting thing that involved the newsies in a long time, and there was no way he was going to miss out on this.

“I feel like we’s is makin’ history,” Digs said behind me. I turned and smiled at him.

“Youse serious?”

“Well yeah, youse see how big this is gettin’. Wouldn’t surprise me if Pulitzer actually gives in.”

“Pulitzer givin’ in? Yeah right,” I joked. “I doubt he ever would submit to the newsies.” That earned me light shoves from Digs and Writer, which made me move from side to side.

“Youse need ta have some faith in the newsies Lukcs, have some faith in Jack and Spot, they’s knows what ta do,” Writer said joining our conversation. I couldn’t respond and instead just shrugged. I paid back attention just in time to hear Spot say:

“I’s say, that what youse say…is what I’s say.” He and Jack spat in their hands before shaking, and then the real party started. Medda came out and started singing a song, which of course all the guys knew so they sang it at the top of their lungs. I just laughed the whole time, the excitement fueling my energy. It made me happy to see Spot smiling and having a good time down below. _Maybe I was too hard on him…_ I thought as guilt suddenly spread throughout my body. It was never his fault for keeping all that information from me; it wasn’t anybody’s fault. He did what he thought was best to keep me safe, which was what Danny would’ve wanted. _I can’t believe I’m realizing this now,_ I thought as I shook my head to myself. Ever since we were younger I never really thought much about the hardships Spot had to go through. I always focused on myself; what affected me. I never knew that he cared about Danny just as much as I did, because well…he never showed it…

 

~

_I had been here three days; three days since I became a newsie; three days since I last saw my parents; three days since Danny…All they had me doing was selling twenty papers and following this kid Spot around. I never left his sight, unless I had to use the bathroom, and even then he stood right outside the door. We couldn’t risk anyone finding out I was really a girl, and we couldn’t risk those guys finding my family or me. Nighttime was the worst though. I’d be up nearly all night crying, and no one seemed to care or help me. I thought they liked Danny? How come they never show that they care? It made me furious that none of the newsies really showed their true emotions, and the main culprit was Spot._

_“Why youse so glum all of a sudden?” he asked one day while we were walking in a park. I hadn’t noticed that I was walking with my head down and my hands in my pocket until he asked the question._

_“What youse cryin’ ‘bout now?” I guess I was crying too…_

_“What do you care?” I spat as I used my sleeve to wipe away my tears._

_“Hey, don’t get cocky with me, I asked youse a question and I’m waitin’ for an answer.” His glare cut through me like a butcher’s knife, almost daring me to even open my mouth. To be honest, he scared me when he got like this; which is somewhat stupid because he was just being serious. But there was something about his eyes, the sharp glare made me feel nervous._

_“Well?”_

_“I-I miss Danny,” I said under my breath, hoping it wasn’t loud enough for him to hear. He just stared at me with a blank emotion. The longer he looked the more desperate I felt to just cry, bawl my eyes out right in the middle of this park. I needed a moment to feel absolutely vulnerable and for the first time in days put my guard down. It was exhausting to pretend to be a boy and make sure no one tried anything on me, to wake up at the crack of dawn every morning before the guys and shower before they took over the bathroom, to sell papers everyday with the same person in the same spots. I wanted to go home, to my parents and my own bed and wear my old clothes again and let my hair down and never wear a stupid hat ever again. I had hoped that my eyes told all of that to Spot as we stared at each other, but I guess I was wrong._

_“Yeah well, he’s gone. We’s need ta move on,” with that he started walking away. “Let’s go Lucks.” I was reluctant to follow. I wanted to turn and run the opposite way and never look back. I would’ve too, if he didn’t stop and abruptly turn around. It was like he knew what I was thinking of doing. He irritated me so much that sometimes I wondered if he ever cared about anything._ Probably not, _I thought as I heaved a big sigh and dragged my feet to follow him. We walked a few blocks until the tension within me finally erupted._

_“Why don’t you ever show emotions?” My built up anger made my question seem very cut and forced. I didn’t know why I thought it best to ask that, because I knew he wouldn’t give me a straight answer. He’d just avoid it by getting mad at me and move on, like he always does._

_“Show emotions?” he questioned. He turned his head slightly to give me an intense questioning gaze. “Why would I’s ever need ta show emotions ‘sides anger and irritation?”_

_“Oh I don’t know, to show that you care?” I scoffed. “Everyone cares about something even if its nothing. Surely you have something or someone you care about, and if you do you can’t possibly show ‘anger and irritation’ towards them.”_

_“What makes youse think youse can talk ta me like that huh?” he stopped walking and faced me dead on, hands in his pockets, intense glare ablaze. “Everyone cares ‘bout somethin’ so what? I certainly don’t, an don’t youse come up with some reason why I’s don’t. From what I’ve learned here on the streets of Brooklyn, carin’ get’s youse nowhere; it only makes youse weak and vulnerable. Danny should be enough of an example of that.” He said the latter without flinching or lowering his volume, and took me by surprise._

_“How can you be so cruel?” I could feel the tears pricking my eyes yet again as I bit my lip back and brushed by him heading back to the lodging house._

_~_

Had I known that Spot hid his true emotions from the moment we started spending more time together, I would’ve handled everything differently. I treated him like he was heartless and cruel, like he never cared about anything or anybody in his life. How could he have had the gall to stay by my side almost every day for six years with the way I acted towards him? I felt my whole face get red with embarrassment and the sudden urge to cry. I had to apologize, to tell him that I knew he was right about everything. With that newfound determination set in my body I abruptly stood up from my seat and started to maneuver my way out of the box seats we were squished into.

“Hey Lucks, where youse goin’?” Digs questioned as I moved past him.

“I gotta tell Spot somethin’,” I said as I looked back with light tears spilling from my eyes. Digs knew not to question why and let me go, getting some of the guys to move out of my way. I hurried into the hall and down the red-carpeted stairs not caring to look at the beautifully designed surroundings around me. I barely even glanced outside the lobby to the front doors, but in the blur of my movement I saw a sight that quickly made the pit of my stomach drop to the floor. Frozen in between the doorway that led to the first floor of the theater, I realized that a crowd of policemen was waiting. Waiting for the perfect moment to barge in and take us all. Of all the things I learned about being a newsie, the most important one of all was to always be on high alert when the police got involved. Newsies and police never mixed well together. I had to tell someone, anyone that we were in trouble; I had to tell Spot.

I hurried quickly into the first floor entrance and saw the news guy…crap I forgot his name…he was talking to some guy with gray hair. I decided to ignore them and focus on finding Spot. Scanning the room I saw Jack and his friend up on stage with Medda and Race and a bunch of guys. For some reason Jack’s friend suddenly pointed in my general direction, then a whistle sounded. _Shit, shit, shit, shit!_ I thought. _That can’t be good._ No sooner had I thought it, the swarm of policemen waiting outside charged right in. For a brief moment I saw Spot a few tables over from me. I tried to get over to him but I felt a strong arm push me to the side. Unaware to whoever so rudely moved me, I collided head first into a post and almost lost consciousness. I would’ve fallen and been stampeded on all over again if someone wasn’t there to catch me. That someone happened to be Writer.

“Lucks, are youse ok?” he practically yelled over the commotion. I couldn’t tell if I gave him an actual answer or not but he must’ve gotten the message because he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards an exit. We managed to sneak by large portions of the policemen by sticking in the middle of the moving hordes of people. It wasn’t long until we were outside, and I swore I saw Jack next to us. I could also see what looked like Kid Blink, but I was so shocked; a police officer was beating him. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, and immediately worried about Spot. Yeah he could take care of himself, but not with this many against him. I must’ve mumbled something about my reaction because Writer suddenly spoke again as we ran past the wall of mounted officers.

“Don’t worry Lucks, he’ll be ok, he’s a fighter!” It was something along those lines. The longer I exerted energy the harder it was for me to hear what was happening around me. The beating of my heart and throbbing pain of my head was all I could hear. It felt like a good thirty minutes had passed by when in actuality it was probably only ten.

“We’s just need to get to the house,” he said until he slammed into something hard. The sudden collision didn’t come with any warning so I pounded right into Writer’s back; everything else after that moment as a complete bur. I felt Writer quickly turn around and shove me away out into the street and heard his muffled yells to run. So that’s what I did. I ran back to the house. I took the longest way possible to not have anyone track where exactly I was going, and I ran. It was hard at first to ignore the pain, but something inside of me knew that my life was in danger, and if I stopped running it would definitely end poorly. As soon as I made it back I didn’t rest until I was inside, up the stairs, and lying on my bed in my locked room. Something happened tonight. Something big.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay in updating! Some back story on me: I'm a college student and classes start tomorrow (so I've been busy trying to get things in order), and I'm also in my college's opera and rehearsals have been going on nonstop for basically like three weeks and I've literally been so tired lol.
> 
> BUT I just wanted to let you all know that weekly MWF updates will start up again! Please leave a comment, kudos, etc. and let me know what you think of the story! I love hearing what you have to say haha


	11. Chapter 11

A night behind bars, that’s how I spent the night, locked behind bars for being a public disturbance to the community. At least that’s what the police were telling us. We all knew it was Pulitzer who called them in; he’d do anything to get rid of us. The only good thing was, that I was locked behind bars with newsies, any other group of people and I would’ve really been pissed. We spent hours of the night thinking of ways to escape, what would happen tomorrow, and where the hell Jack was.

“If we’s were all in da same place, and were all nabbed da same time, where da hell’s Jack?” Kid Blink asked. That raised some cheers of agreement within our cell, and caught my attention. I slightly turned my head to the left while I leaned on my arm against the bars, my back to everyone else. It didn’t take long until the eyes landed on me, like I should have all the answers.

“Youse think I’s know?” I practically growled.

“Well youse were on stage with ‘im…” somebody in the back dared to mutter. That got me to turn and completely face them, arms at my sides, hands balled up in loose fists.

“If youse think I’s had somethin’ ta do with this, then think again. We’s all saw Jacky-boy get his lights knocked out a ‘im. An why’s you all question’ me, when the guy with all the answers never got caught? Mr. Walkin’ Mouth himself,” I spat the last part. “Claims he’s a newsie but manages ta get away when we’s all get taken.” I honestly didn’t know what I was saying. I just hated the fact that I was behind bars. I may have had a reputation around the entire city for being a badass, but at least I never had a record. _Only makes sense for the Walkin’ Mouth, or Mr. Privileged as I see it, to not have a record like the rest of his so called “friends”,_ I thought. I let out a big long sigh before finding a place to sit down in the cell. I needed to relax or else I was going to give myself a heart attack. What the rest of the guys didn’t know was that I was driving myself crazy thinking about Lucks. A part of me wished she had gotten taken with the rest of us instead of getting away. Who knows what could be happening to her right now. I hated to think about it, but it was all that was on my mind. I wasn’t with her; I can’t protect her from here if those thugs go after her tonight. _Pull it together Conlon,_ I snapped to myself while I lightly shook my head. I took a look at my surroundings and saw that most of the boys wore looks of defeat that mixed with tiredness. They were all worried about their own problems and being locked up in here wasn’t solving any of them.

“Hey,” I called just loud enough to get almost everyone’s attention. “Try an rest up for tomorrow, I’s gotta feelin’ it’s gonna be a long day.” Most nodded in response while they all got into somewhat comfortable positions. Although nothing was very much comfortable considering we were in a cement room with two hard benches and bars surrounding us. I still couldn’t believe I was here; _Better not mention this to Del,_ I thought just before closing my eyes.

 

~

I had been frozen in the farthest corner of my room staring at the locked door. I made sure I had no lights on, and was trying my best not to fall asleep. Judging by the light outside the windows I could tell it was almost morning, the sky was just turning a light pale dawn. _It must be safer now…_ I thought as I started to unravel my legs from their bent positions. _They wouldn’t try anything in daylight…_ At least I hoped so. I was just about to stand up completely until there was a somewhat frantic knock on my door. Since it caught me by surprise I froze again, almost trembling hoping I wouldn’t make a sound. I didn’t relax until I heard who was calling.

“Lucks, it’s me Writer,” he sounded tired, beaten, and worried all at the same time. “Are you in here, please open up.” I at first moved cautiously, doubting it was him, but then I realized what I was thinking and got over it. Of course it was Writer…it had to be. I rushed to the door but opened it up slowly making sure I saw it was him before fully opening it. As soon as I saw his face I felt my mouth drop; he was beaten pretty badly and looked shaken.

“Writer,” I didn’t have time to say anything else because he engulfed me in a big hug, tears slightly dampening my shirt. “What happened?” I breathed lightly, shocked at his actions.

“I’m so glad youse is ok. Look,” he pulled me back but kept his hands on my shoulders, his face was now dead serious. “When we’s got separated last night, it was these three guys, they’s just attacked us. They’s came outta nowhere you and I didn’t even see ‘em comin’. I told youse ta run and right after he came and we’s fought. We’s fought hard an was winnin’ but…but they’s had a gun. They’s shot ‘im, was gonna get me but da bulls were close enough ta hear it. Soon as those thugs heard ‘em they bolted, left us there, left me there with ‘im just lying there on da ground…”

“Writer wait, take a deep breath,” I said, scared to ask my next question. “Who…who was it, who was with you?” I was shaking; a part of me was preparing to hear the one name that now meant so much to me. I don’t know what I would do if it was him. I wouldn’t be myself anymore; I wouldn’t function. He put up with me for so long, cared for me, protected me, and I never got the chance to say sorry and thank him. All because I realized too late and now…

“Digs,” he rasped out. “It was Digs Lucks.” It was disturbing to think about, but a sense of relief flooded through both of us. We were both glad it wasn’t Spot, Writer for the reason that it wasn’t his leader, me for the reason that I still had my chance to confess to him. But dread soon hit me like a ton of bricks.

“Well, well what happened to ‘im, is he ok, he’s not…” he let go of me and started a small pace back and forth in the doorway as he combed a hand through his disheveled hair.

“I don’t know, da bulls took ‘im to da hospital. I’s can’t go an see ‘im, I ain’t family.” He sounded frustrated, as if he had tried multiple times to see Digs.

“Is that were youse were this whole time?” That got his attention back up.

“Not just there, I’s found out that Spot and a bunch a newsies are bein’ held for the night. Gotta trial happenin’ later this mornin’. Oh Lucks, everythin’ is messed up,” he sighed as he leaned back on the wall and brushed his hand through his hair. My mind was thinking non-stop about ways to fix all of these problems. I was most concerned about Digs, who knew what kind of injuries he could have from last night.

“Writer,” I snapped bringing us both back to attention. “Does Spot know Digs’ real name?” The question took him by surprise.

“Y-yeah I’s think so…why?”

“He could pretend ta be his brother, that way we’s can be there for ‘im, know what’s goin’ on.” As I was explaining I could see the spark of understanding spread across his whole being.

“Lucks youse is a genius!”

“Yeah, but first we’s need ta get Spot outta jail. Meet me downstairs in ten minutes,” I said as I pushed him out of the doorway and closed the door. I took large strides to the small bureau that held my clothes and opened the bottom drawer. Holding up a long brown, plain and simple, skirt, I sighed as I paired it with a light green blouse. It had been a long time since I had ever worn the two pieces of clothing together, but I figured with what was going on today, I needed to look a little more presentable. Looking in the mirror as I finished tying my hair up into a bun, I let out a frustrated sigh. Wearing these clothes just didn’t seem comfortable to me anymore. _I would much rather prefer pants and a button down_ , I thought as I rolled my eyes before leaving the room.

“Whoa…” Writer gasped as I came downstairs. “Lucks youse…yosue is wearin’ a…”

“Stop your gawkin’ Writer,” I snapped as I reached him. “If Spot can pretend to be Dig’s brother, then I’s sure can pretend to be ‘is sister. Also, if we’s is goin’ to see a trial, I’s need to be lookin’ somewhat presentable.” I snorted the last part as I grabbed his hand and charged outside.


	12. Chapter 12

I was relieved to see Spot looked alright…well as alright as he could b for being beat up multiple times. It looked as if the boys had just been walked in since the judge was calling for order. As I looked at them all I saw that most of them looked pretty bad, what with black eyes and bruises everywhere. I wondered how they were last night, being locked up in a jail cell. I could only imagine how furious Spot must’ve been. He works so hard to make sure none of the boys, especially the younger ones, would know what it feels like to be behind bars. It’s something that as a leader, he has to take serious. Gunner taught that to me the night before Spot became leader. Almost the majority of the newsies don’t have families that can provide for them, care about them, or just don’t have families in general. The newsies are one big family whether they like it or not. It certainly was better than being on the streets or in jail. I let out a frustrated sigh just in time to see Writer’s look of disapproval.

“I can’t believe this!” he exclaimed in a sharp whisper. “The judge should know none of ‘em gotta penny to their names!” I was about to voice my opinion until someone gently pushed us both to the side. Everything after that happened very fast and before I knew it the boys were being led out while Jack was being led in. I was about to question Writer about it until he grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room and outside.

“Wait a minute,” I said while a pulled my hand back. “What jus’ happened?” Writer just laughed.

“Geez Lucks, weren’t you payin’ attention? Denton just offered to pay everyone’s bail. Spot an’ the other guys should be out soon.”

“Well then why’d you take me out here?” I saw him give a slight shudder before answering.

“I’s just had to get outta that place. It just gave me the creeps.” I had to agree with him there. There was a noticeable change of mood in the room as we were leaving.

It wasn’t long until the boys filed one by one out of the building. Some of them looked confused as to what just happened and others were relieved to be free. As soon as I saw Spot I ran up to him and engulfed him in the biggest hug I think he’s ever gotten in his whole life. I probably took his breath away.

“Lucks,” he exasperated in slight shock. “What are youse doin here?” he pulled me back to get a look at me. “What the hell are youse wearin?”

“Spot, somethin happened last night…” I started choosing to ignore his last question.

“Really I didn’t know,” he muttered sarcastically under his breath. I just rolled my eyes while Writer took over.

“She’s right youse know, somethin did happen…to Digs.” That quickly got Spot’s attention. He gave a small nod of understanding and motioned us to walk down the sidewalk. I hadn’t realized it but we were in the middle of quite a crowd, a place that wasn’t appropriate for what we had to discuss.

“Explain,” Spot said sharply.

“Well, last night before everythin happened Lucks left the box to go an find youse. Digs and I followed right after her. We barely made it outta the lobby when the bulls just swarmed in. They’s had the whole place surrounded youse know. Anyways, I grabbed Lucks and managed to get her out with Digs following behind. We’s was plain out runnin down the walk when these guys blocked our path. I knew I’s had to get Lucks away so I’s told her to run. I was glad she did cause right after she left they started beatin me. Digs showed up an got ‘em off me but for a price…it was gettin bad so I called the bulls over. As soon as I did the guys ran off leavin me with Digs.” It all seemed too much to handle. There was no doubt in my mind that I knew Spot knew it was Scar and his little gang. I couldn’t help but wonder if the story he heard was similar to what happened to Danny.

“Well were is he?” he snapped, his hands in tight fists.

“Writer said they’s took ‘im to the hospital. He was there last night but couldn’t visit since he wasn’t family.” I saw Spot look me up and down again.

“That why youse is all dressed up?” I don’t know why but something in the way he asked made my insides flutter and I could feel the blush creep over my cheeks.

“I’s thought we’d could pretend to be ‘is brother an sister,” it made me mad that I was suddenly so shy about my own ideas. Maybe I was nervous Spot wouldn’t agree to it. We all walked in silence for about half a block until he answered.

“Alright, let’s go,” he said as we made a right turn down another block. “But Writer I’s still need eyes on ‘hatan. We’s need to be updated on what’s goin on wid that fuckin’ strike.” It was then that Writer stopped in his tracks. It took Spot and I a few more steps to realize that he wasn’t moving. We were greeted with the look of uncertainty on his face when we turned around. It was clear that he wanted to check up on his friend too; he was pained to know he couldn’t go. Spot seemed to understand and moved forward to put a hand on his shoulder.

“I’s know youse wanna see Digs, youse two are practically like brothers, but there’s more to the picture we’s need to focus on.” He was speaking low as if he didn’t want me to hear, but I did. His tone of voice, it had been years since I heard it. He sounded sincere, bold, and vulnerable. He was begging, begging Writer to do as he asked. Writer looked up and nodded before turning and running off. Spot stayed still letting a long sigh out before we too went on our way.

We had walked two blocks in silence and it was killing me. I knew I had to tell him I was sorry, to apologize for every bit of trouble I’ve caused him, but my nerves were getting the best of me. The complete silence wasn’t helping either.  _Come on Lucks,_  I scolded myself.  _Just get it over with!_  I let out a moan in my head as I rolled my eyes at myself.

“You know,” Spot started. “I’s was a bit surprised to see youse dressed like that.” I subconsciously looked down at what I was wearing. “It’s been a long time sinc eyouse worn something that makes you look…” His sudden lack of words made me quick to jump to conclusions.

“What, like a girl, someone I’m not, womanly?” I took wild guesses, my anger increasing with each one.

“I was gonna say beautiful.” My eyes snapped toward his and then quickly darted to my hands. If I thought my face was red before, it was on fire now. He had never been so forward like that with anything let alone compliment me. “Why’d you think I was gonna say someone youse ain’t? Youse is obviously a girl.”

“I meant that, I like dressin’ in boy clothes. They’s is more comfortale than these.” I muttered the second half.

“Well youse should consider wearin’ stuff like this more often…youse look good.” I peeked a quick glance at him acknowledging that I heard him and went back to looking at my hands, smiling to myself.

 

~

The hospital wasn’t as crowded as I thought it’d be; there was barely anyone in the waiting room. I motioned for Lucks to be slightly behind me as we neared the desk. The receptionist took one look at me then went back to doing whatever it was she was doing. I gave a ticked off look to Lucks but she put her hand on my elbow to urge me to keep going.

“Excuse me,” I said while clearing my throat. She still didn’t look up. “We’s are…we’re here to visit our brother. I understand he was brought here last night.” I tried my best to not talk “newsie” to her and try to sound like a proper gentleman. It was a weird sensation, and felt like I was speaking a whole new language.

“Name?”

“Wesley Donovan.” The lady took a second to glance at me before going back to organizing papers.

“Right,” she sneered. She covered it quickly by speaking slightly louder. “And who might you two be?”  _If you were listening you would already know,_  I spat in my head. I tilted my head in annoyance and gave a curt smile.

“We’re his brother and sister.” At that she gave a hard long stare at us before writing us our passes. We barely heard what room to go to since I was already dragging Lucks away. I couldn’t stand another second being under her judgmental glare. It’s one thing when newsies judge other newsies, but when “normal” people judge us, well lets just say it’s best if they get out of our way. I almost walked by the room until Lucks pulled me back and motioned towards it. I paused in the doorway hesitating.  _Now’s not the time to be nervous Conlon,_  I chided myself, but I couldn’t help it. For some reason it made me think of my mother. This place was where she found out she was ill…if they hadn’t told her I probably would still have her here with me…

There were rows of beds, some occupied some not, and some surrounded by curtains. Some people looked relatively healthy, at least on the outside, while others looked horrifically awful. I was sad to see that Digs fit into the latter category. He had a broken leg and arm, his head was firmly wrapped, and half of his face was still blue with bruises. Scar and his guys got him good; I’m relieved they didn’t kill him.

“Oh god,” Lucks inhaled once she saw him. She rushed to his side and carefully placed her hand on his unbroken one. “Digs,” she whispered. His eyes looked as if they fluttered open, although it was hard to tell because of his swollen face.

“Hey,” he mumbled. “How’d youse two get here?” I moved to his other side and got close so the attendants and nurses couldn’t hear us.

“What, youse thought we’s wouldn’t visit our dear brother?” My smirk was all he needed to understand our situation. He just smiled back and sighed while lightly shaking his head. After a couple seconds I then grew very serious. I was outraged Scar would go after my boys like this. While I shouldn’t be surprised that they tried to go after Lucks, they crossed the line going after my boys.

“Hey,” I said getting his attention again. “I’s swear to youse that I’ll get ‘em; for youse…an’ for Danny.” It felt weird to me for some reason saying Danny’s name; he wasn’t here anymore. But that didn’t mean it left him out of this. He’s gone because of Scar, and Digs could’ve been gone too. I was snapped out of my trance when I felt a slight nudge on my hand from Digs.

“What youse gotta do,” he started. “Is to protect Lucks.” A light chill went down my spine as I did a quick glance to the now worried Lucks. I gave a hard nod while I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Thanks for comin’ guys. Really, it really means a lot to me.” Lucks rubbed his hand with her thumb in a reassuring matter as the mood shifted from somber to uplifting.

“Youse is like family, of course we’d visit,” Lucks said. “Plus, it’s my fault this happened to youse in the first place.” She muttered the latter under her breath, but we both heard her.

“Are youse kiddin’? I’d take a beatin’ for youse any time, anywhere. I bet all the Brooklyn newsies would too, ‘specially Spot.”

“Youse got that right, an’ I’d soak ‘em once I got the chance too.” That brought a halfhearted smile to her face as she straightened up. I took that as our cue to leave, I could tell she was upset. “Well, we’s better get goin’. I’ll send someone over to keep you informed ‘bout the strike.”

“Thanks Spot, I appreciate it.” We waved and said our goodbyes and left, fast walking once we were out of the room. It was painful to see one of my best guys so beat, but it was reassuring to know he would go through it all again to keep her safe. He was right too, all the boys would do the same; anything it took to keep Lucks safe.


	13. Chapter 13

Our walk back was in silence, and if I thought it was bad before, it was a thousand times worse now. I could tell he wasn’t in the greatest of moods after seeing Digs, and I was a little shaken about what they both claimed. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of me. I never wanted anyone to get hurt at all, and so far three of the people closest to me have. If things keep going like this it would only be a matter of time until someone else ends up dead; all because they’re trying to keep me safe. _Enough_ , I thought. _No more._ It was then that a crazy idea popped into my head. An idea that should’ve made me scared to the bone, but for some reason didn’t faze me. If I gave myself over to Scar, then all the fights and beatings of the newsies, my friends, would stop. No one else would have to get hurt…

“So,” Spot said loud enough to get my attention. “What was it youse wanted to tell me?” I looked at him confused as to what he was asking but he just looked ahead, hands casually in his pocket. I guess my silence cued him to explain. “Writer said youse left ‘em at the rally to find me. What was it youse wanted to say?” At that second my nerves kicked into overdrive as my face started to get hot.

“Oh…that…” I started. Spot then turned to face me and stopped. It was then that I realized we were already back to the lodging house.

“Well?” _I guess now’s a better time than ever,_ I thought as I mentally prepared myself.

“I wanted to say that…that I was sorry.” That took him by surprise. “I realized that youse was right, to keep all that from me. I was too focused on me to even think that you, or any of the Brooklyn newsies, could have just as strong a bond with Danny, and since youse never showed your true emotions, I just thought youse never cared for him. It was because of that, that I treated you so cruelly, and for that I’m sorry.” I could feel the tears start to prick at my eyes, and Spot could clearly see that I was on the verge of a breakdown, so he placed his hands on my shoulders and moved us into the side alley.

“It’s ok Lucks,” he said firmly trying to get his point across. “What, youse thought I’s didn’t know what I was signing up for when I decided to look after youse?”

“Don’t youse mean, when Gunner told youse to look after me?” I said with a slight smile.

“No,” he said in all seriousness, which made my smile disappear. “I’s mean when I became leader. I swore to myself to protect everyone who lives in the lodgin’ house, and that includes you.” I didn’t know what to think after he said that. A part of me was surprised he would have done that at all after the way I treated him. The other part of me was so emotional though. I didn’t deserve to have him care about me. I had never even thought it was possible for him to care at all. But this one sentence, this changes everything I ever thought I knew about Spot. Maybe the King of Brooklyn did have a humane side to him. I snapped out of my thought when he touched his thumb to my cheek.

“Why youse cryin’?” he wondered with a slightly tilted head.

“I’ve known you for years but never took the time to really get to know you,” my voice sounded young as I tried to hold back my tears. “You shouldn’t care about me, I’m a horrible person.” The more I talked the more emotional I got. Maybe it was because of what I promised to myself. It was tearing me apart knowing that I would at some point have to leave him.

“You aren’t horrible…”

“Why do you care?” It sounded harsh but I need to know. It looked like he tensed up a bit and straightened up before answering.

“Because youse made me care.” Everything around us felt like it was miles away. Suddenly it was just him and me, no other noises sounded, no other peopled were near; just us. “Ever since you started livin’ here youse made me care more an more.”

“I thought you hated me when I first got here?”

“Youse should know by now I ain’t the best at speakin’ my feelings.” There was more silence again, some tension building between us. The level of my vulnerability climbed higher and higher; I wanted so badly to embrace him.

“Spot,” it was hard to talk without bursting into sobs. “I’m so sorry!” In a flash I felt his strong arms around me as he held me tight to his chest. I clung to his shirt like my life depended on it before he pulled me back. I was about to question him but stopped when I saw his face. He looked so sincere and dare I say it, passionate.

“Spot…” he cut me off by giving me a forceful and lustful kiss. At that moment I completely lost touch with reality. All I knew was that Spot Conlon was kissing me, and I wasn’t upset about it. I knew he wasn’t going to dump me for another girl like he’s done so many other times. I knew I was going to be more than a “one nighter”, as the boys called them. I knew this meant something to not only him, but to the both of us. Without hesitation my arms flew around his body as I kissed him back with just as much force as he. At some point he picked me up, my legs around his hips, walked us inside the lodging house, and up the stairs to one of our rooms. I was so caught up in our embrace to even notice until he landed on top of me on the bed. His hand was quick to find its way to my left breast as he trailed kisses down my jaw to my neck.

It felt like I was on fire, every inch of me burning for more of Spot’s gently yet rough touches. With my back slightly arched, I pulled at his shirt hoping he’d get the hint that I wanted it off. He glanced at me and gave his signature smirk as he unbuttoned my blouse first. Once that was off I did his shirt, rather impatiently, and he attached himself back to my neck as I wrapped my arms around his back. A moan rushed out from my mouth and made my nerves go on end. I had never experienced this before, so I suddenly became embarrassed with my sudden outburst. Spot only gave a small chuckle as he worked his way down to get my skirt off, occasionally placing kisses as he went.

“Youse ain’t got nothin to be embarrassed about,” he said sternly as he took my skirt off. I knew he had already lost his virginity a long time ago, and he sure as hell knew that he was going to be my first, so whatever he said I swore to myself I would believe. I was done doubting him and thinking he’s always wrong. I was done not fully believing in him. With a fierce blush on my face I nodded in response. For some reason I suddenly had a surge of courage flow through me and I smiled playfully as I flipped us over. It felt nice to straddle him, to be in charge for once. I knew it wasn’t going to last long so I quickly pulled him up to get his undershirt off and pushed him back down to kiss him, my hands on his chest.

“I wasn’t done yet,” he practically growled as he turned us back over. I just giggled in response as he pulled my underwear off. I was about to get shy again as he opened my legs apart, but he gave me a look which made me relax. He left a trail of kisses down my leg to my thigh and stopped to suck on my clit. As soon as he did my back arched again and I grabbed at anything I could to brace myself. My legs found their way to rest on his shoulders and curl onto his back, making sure he didn’t lift to stop. I felt so close to releasing, and was about to until he paused and placed a finger in me. I shuddered at his touch and moaned out his name.

“Oh Spot.” That seemed to only fuel him and he added another finger. He pumped them in and out until I climaxed. At which point he placed his fingers in his mouth and cleaned them off. I just smiled lustfully at the action and sat up on my elbows. Once he was done he pulled me up to the side of the bed and started working on getting his pants off. I took my bra off before helping him and pulled his long hard throbbing member out. For a moment I was shocked, all I could do was look at it. I had never seen on before and had a hard time thinking of how it would fit in me.

“What, what’s wrong?” Spot asked. I almost laughed in my head because it sounded like he was suddenly self conscious, but I knew he was just worried that something was actually wrong with me.

“N-nothing…it’s just…so big…” I hesitated and stuttered out of shyness. Spot only laughed in response and started stroking it. Practically mesmerized I decided to take over, and put my tongue on his tip. He let out a quick sigh. It made me shiver again hearing him start to moan under my touch. I never knew I could have this effect on someone let alone Spot, and I craved for more. I put as much of him in my mouth I could fit and stroked the rest with my hand and waited for his moaning to ensue. It was like music to my ears and pushed my to move faster and suck harder. He nearly doubled over and gently pushed me away.

“Whoa, I ain’t ready for that yet,” he panted. “Move down.” He instructed as he climbed on top of me again. Once my head was on a pillow he spread my legs and inched up so he could rub himself on me. It felt so good, but I knew the painful part was soon to come; he was just preparing me.

“I’ll go slow,” he promised looking me in the eye. I nodded and then felt his tip begin to enter me. Out of nervousness I started to tense up. “Relax, it’ll feel better if youse relax,” he soothed me with a nice kiss and resumed entering. It hurt more than I expected but then he stopped moving and stayed still. “I’m in,” he rasped. “I’s won’t move till youse is ok.” I brought him in for another long kiss.

“I’m ready,” I whispered. He started slowly going back and forth, in and out of me. Soon the painfulness was dulled and gone and replaced with a pure euphoric sensation.

“Faster,” I moaned as I pulled him even closer to me. He obliged and moaned in response. We went on for what felt like hours, occasionally flipping and turning back and forth. I came first and let out probably the loudest moan I ever let out, Spot came second making sure he pulled out first. With everything that was going on, we certainly didn’t need a baby in the mix. We ended up spooning each other, Spot’s arm laid gently around my waist. It wasn’t long until I heard his light snores when I knew he was asleep. _It’s time_ , I thought. I carefully got out of bed and quickly changed into some comfortable clothes. I was at the door when I stopped and looked back. _I should leave a note…just something so he doesn’t go crazy._ I found a piece of paper and wrote the first thing that came to mind. I placed the note on the bureau and slipped out the door. The cool night air made what happened only hours ago feel like it was ages ago. The passionate afternoon and evening turned into the eerie night as I made my way down the street; as I made my way to Scar.


	14. Chapter 14

Moments of last night kept replaying in my mind as I lay blissfully in bed. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so at ease before. Waking up was always the thing I dreaded most in the day, because it meant going through the pain and frustration all over again. The pain of having been beaten with blue and purple bruises causing my body to ache, the frustration of keeping my boys safe…keeping Lucks safe. _Lucks,_ I said her name in my head and smiled to myself. She made me forget about everything that was happening around me, and made me focus on just us. I couldn’t believe I was actually feeling like this, all happy and light. I greatly welcomed the feelings, since it was so different compared to my seriousness. It was good to just feel rather than think for a little bit. _The things she does to me,_ I thought basking in the silence, before it got so rudely interrupted.

“Spot ‘hattan’s stirrin with somethin’ big!” Writer practically yelled as he burst into the room.

“Jesus Writer!” I exclaimed. He moved so fast he startled me and I nearly jumped a foot out of the bed as I quickly covered myself. It was then that I realized that Lucks wasn’t in bed with me too. “What the hell is youse talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Specs, he saw Jack at ‘hattan’s distribution center, but he wasn’t dressed like ‘is usual self. Somethin’ must’ve happened last night, Specs thinks Pulitzer got to ‘im,” Writer mumbled fast as he panted, still trying to catch his breath. He must’ve run here as soon as he found out from Specs. It must’ve been important too if he ran, plus any news from Specs was big news. The kid was one of the youngest newsies, but also the best birdie New York’s ever seen; he could see specs of dirt for crying out loud. I knew this was important stuff, and didn’t hesitate to take action.

“Alright, I’ll go see what’s happenin,” I said as I reached for my pants. “While I’s is out go look for Lucks, make sure she’s ok.”

“Sure thing…why would she not be ok? Did somethin’ happen last night?” I almost smiled at the mention of last night, but quickly composed myself.

“No, now get out so I’s can change.” He gave a quick nod before closing the door.

 

~

By the time I got to the distribution center there was already a good crowd of newsies gathered in front. Right away I saw Race and some of the other guys and I made my way over to them.

“What’s goin’ on guys?”

“Hey Spot,” Race greeted while giving me a pat on the back. “We’s figured that jus cause Jack’s not here doesn’t mean the strike needs ta stop.”

“Yeah, it was Davey’s idea,” Mush added. _Oh so Walkin’ Mouth finally decided to take over?_ I sneered in my head. There was just something about him that I really didn’t like. What was it again? Oh right, the fact that he has a privileged life and chooses to work as a newsie. What happens when his old man’s arm is working again? He gonna drop us like a stack a papes? Not all of us have the choice of being a newsie; it’s either this or the streets.

“Hey cut the kid some slack Spot,” Race said loud enough for only me to hear. I’ve known Race longer than the other boys here so he knew when something bothered me; in this case Mr. Walkin Mouth. “What we’s got to worry about is Jack and gettin’ ‘im back, an youse need to worry ‘bout Lucks an Brooklyn.” Leave it to him to point out what I need to focus on. Normally I would slug the person who told me that, but I listen to Race. He’s right, there’s no time to worry about unnecessary things; right now my main focus should be on how successful the strike is and finding out where Lucks went. The letter she left me only said she was out for a walk, but considering how early I got woken up I knew that wasn’t true. The girl can’t wake up early on her own…unless she didn’t go to bed.

“Shit.” I muttered to myself. Race looked over in question at me as if to ask what was wrong. “I’s gotta go, let me know what happens…” The opening of the gates cut me off, and low and behold there he was. Jack “Cowboy” Kelly, dressed as a fucking scabber.

 

~

My heart was beating fast ever since I left Spot last night. I was scared he would wake up while I was changing, scared he would turn a corner and slap me good for what I was doing. A part of me actually hoped he would so I wouldn’t have to go to them, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. The morning sun was out by now and I was deep in the heart of Queens, looking for any sign of Scar, Knuckles, or Dagger. I wondered how Spot would react once he woke up: upset…relieved…angry? _Let’s face it; he’s probably on his way to find me right now,_ I thought to myself. If he really did find my note he would know that it was an obvious lie. I hated getting up early, and depending on how early he woke up…I had to think about something else. Thinking about Spot, and how I was basically betraying him wasn’t making me feel confident in my decision at all. This was a good thing I was doing. Well, not actually good but at least it would solve some of the problems. No one else would have to get hurt to protect me. That’s why I was doing this.

“Well,” I stopped immediately at the sound of the voice behind me. “If it isn’t our _lucky_ day fellas.”

“Scar,” I acknowledged coldly as I turned around. Sure enough the troublesome three were there.

“An what brings youse here to Queens?” Knuckles and Dagger made their way around me to surround me against a brick wall. They were trying to intimidate me but I tried my best to stand my ground.

“Spot told me everythin’ about youse; what youse did to Danny…my brother; how youse was afta my family’s money.” Scar’s eyebrow perked up a bit at my statement.

“He did now did he,” he sneered as he leaned closer to me. “An why’s that bring youse ta Queens?”

“I’m offerin myself over ta youse,” I tried so hard not to mumble my words out of nerves. “I’s don’t want no one else getting’ hurt because of me.”

“No one else eh?”

“I’s know what youse did to Digs and Writer, and not to mention Spot. They’s all got hurt tryin’ to protect me.”

“An lemme guess, you is sick and tired of bein’ so helpless ain’t youse.” My hard stare was more than enough of an answer for him. He laughed a bit as he moved back before staring me up and down. “Conlon don’t got a clue youse is here huh?” I shook my head defiantly. “Youse think that’s a good idea?”

“I make my own life decisions, not him.” Scar let out a quick sigh, almost as a laugh, and turned to face the sidewalk.

“Let’s go for a walk then shall we, boys,” he ordered the other two to link arms on either side of me and held me tight pressing a knife to both sides of me. I looked at the knives in concern before looking at Scar.

“Can’t have you runnin’ off now can we,” he asked rhetorically. With that we started walking down the sidewalk. “Now,” he started with his hands clasped behind his back. “Youse sure it was a good idea ta suddenly make your own life decisions?” He looked at me expectantly for an answer. Instead I returned a hard glare. “Look I’m just tryin’ ta point out the obvious. I’m assuming, since youse know ‘bout us killin’ ya brother, that Spot decided to become soft an tell youse the truth right?” _Like I’m going to answer to him now,_ I spat in my head while keeping my glare up. I could tell he was getting annoyed with my attitude and he snapped his fingers, which was a signal to his two goons to press their knives deeper.

“Yes,” I spat hoping the pressure would let up a little. He just gave a little chuckle.

“Oh that’s precious,” he said and continued to laugh until my nerves couldn’t take it anymore.

“What’s so funny?”

“The fact that youse thought Conlon, King of Brooklyn Newsies, who are known for their lyin’ cheatin’ and beatin’ ways, was being honest with youse!” Now he was borderline hysterical.

“What, youse is sayin’ he lied to me?” At that question he snapped back into his sinister sneer.

“That’s exactly what I’s is sayin’. You see, what Conlon failed ta mention was that he made a deal with us. A deal ‘bout youse, cause the old one just didn’t work. Youse know, with the killin’ of ya brother an all.”

“What fuckin’ deal are youse talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Oh, feisty are we?” He joked as he brought his hand under my chin and shook my head from side to side. I jerked my head out of his grasp.

“What deal!”

“The deal where if you newsies win this pointless strike, then us three will leave youse all alone. But, if youse lose we’s get _all_ of Brooklyn’s sellin’ spots, newsies, and rights…an that includes youse.” He poked my nose at the last bit. “So youse see why youse comin’ here is cause for a celebration no? We’s got insurance, that no matter what way the strike sways, we’s got youse.” My gut dropped at the realization of this. He was right, why did I have to choose now to all of a sudden decide my life choices? I should’ve stayed with Spot and listened to what he said, he obviously knew what he was doing. But, what this also means is that Spot didn’t tell me the complete truth either. _Stop_ , I told myself. The whole reason why we fought was because I didn’t believe in his decisions. I didn’t know better to agree with Spot’s intentions because I didn’t know he was doing it all to protect me. If I go back to hating him because he withheld something from me, for good reason, then we would be right back to square one.

I was getting scared now; more scared than I had been in a long time. Here I was deep in Queens without any help or anyone knowing where I actually was. Here I was thinking this was all going to be the best thing for everyone. Here I was messing up everything yet again. For some reason, it felt like I was going to loose someone I hold dear to my heart again, and it would all be my fault.

 

~

“I’ll murder ya, ya bloody scabber!” I yelled at Jack as most of the guys held me back. All I could see was red, and the only thing on my mind was seriously hurting Cowboy. He had basically just cost me all of Brooklyn and Lucks; he had just cost me my life. I wasn’t going to loose everything I had worked hard for just because of his greedy ass.

After he and the other scabbers cleared out the rest of us just stood defeated in the wake. The Walkin’ Mouth’s kid brother was upset, just like the rest of them, but I was still mad. If it weren’t for the guys, Jack Kelly would be no more. If it weren’t for Jack Kelly, the strike would have never happened…well him and the Walkin’ Mouth. But that’s the problem, they were a team; one can’t do it without the other. Jack brought what the Mouth said to a newsie perspective, while the Mouth had the knowledge Jack lacked. We started this whole strike business with Jack, and we can’t do it without him. I let out a frustrated sigh and threw a punch to no one as I started my walk back to Brooklyn.

“Hey Spot,” Race said as he caught up to me.

“I can’t fuckin’ believe it,” I muttered trying to control my anger.

“Look, it came as a shock to all of us. David said he tired ta talk some sense into ‘im last night, but he refused.” I did a double take at his words making him repeat. “Jack refused help, he went to Pulitzer on ‘is own.” I was still caught by surprise; mouth slightly open just paused in my step. A part of me knew that something had to have been up if he just willingly went back to Pulitzer, but I just couldn’t accept it. If it were me, I would’ve fought for what I wanted harder, no matter the consequences. I let out a frustrated sigh, which could have also been mistaken as a frustrated yell, before continuing my walk.

“This whole things gone ta shit Race, an we’s is left ta pick up the pieces.”

“Yeah, about that Spot,” Race said as he fell in step with me. “How’s things wid Lucks?” His question made me stutter in my step slightly but I kept my composure. In everything that had happened recently I failed to keep Race up to date. Normally this would go against my better judgment, but Race loved Lucks just as much as Danny did; it wouldn’t be fair for me to keep him completely in the dark.

“She’s good,” I decided to keep my answer short and to the point.

“What about Scar an ‘is thugs, they keepin’ a distance or what?”

“They’s seem to be what with the strike happenin’ an’ all, but that don’t mean that they won’t do somethin’ soon. I thought they would’ve by now…Maybe I’s should pay ‘em a visit…”

“That don’t sound good. Spot what’s goin’ on?” Leave it to Race to actually pay attention to my tone of voice. I hesitated a bit thinking if I should tell him my suspicions or not, but I knew he could help with his opinion.

“I don’t know where she is,” I muttered. I could see Race’s eyes widen before he got down to business.

“Ok, when’s the last time you saw her?”

“Last night, an’ this morning all there was was a letter sayin’ she went for a walk.”

“An’ she didn’t say where she was goin’?”

“That ain’t the point Race, I woke up at the crack a dawn an’ she was already gone. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from livin’ with her for years, its that she ain’t an early riser.” It was clear that the gears were churning in his mind as we reached the Brooklyn Bridge.

“Youse goin’ ta check the lodging house now?” I nodded in response, already knowing what he would say. “If she ain’t there, we just might have ta go pay a visit to our friends.”

“We?” I questioned. “Race youse don’t have ta go wid me. Wouldn’t youse rather stay an help wid the strike?”

“Did youse really just ask me that?” I just gave him a slight glare as I thought of a plan with dealing with Scar. Something told me tonight was going to be a long night.


	15. Chapter 15

We were just making our way into the Queenies territory when Race spoke up again.

“So, youse got an idea of where she could be?” We had already checked the lodging houses of both Manhattan and Brooklyn only to find that I was right: she wasn’t there.

“I know who she’s with, but I don’t know where they’s are.” Race only gave a simple nod as he kept up with my fast paced walking.

“So where’s we goin’ now?”

“Ta meet wid their old leader…” I barely said leader when I saw Race’s eyes go wide in shock.

“Whaddaya crazy?” I shot him a glare so fast it was enough to snap some sense into him. “I-I mean, West? Spot there’s a reason why Brooklyn fights with Queens…”

“An youse think he’s it?”

“Well…n-no but he definitely kept it up when he was leader. Spot, youse really wanna go to the guy who did nothing after three of his own murdered someone?” I stopped abruptly and gave a dejected sigh; shoulders slumped.

“This ain’t the first time I’m seein ‘im.” It took a minute for Race to process what he had just heard.

“What!”

“Look, he helped me come up with a deal to keep Scar at bay.”

“An youse think you can trust ‘im again because of it?”

“I ain’t askin for much Race. Just where I’s can find Scar.” I took another sigh before starting to walk again. “I get where youse is comin from, but this is a risk I need ta take. Look at it this way, either we ask and he tells us where they are, or we search all of Queens.” He took a moment to sigh, and probably roll his eyes at me, before walking again. So what if West had a bad history, don’t we all? We’ve all done something we’re not proud of. Of course I didn’t want to be the one to tell Race that; he of all people knew. Newsies aren’t the best people; we don’t come from the best home situations, if we even have any that is. Not all of us come from homes like Mr. Walking Mouth. I tsked at the thought. He gets under my skin, thinking he has it rough having to work to get whatever money he can while his pop is out with a busted arm. _He doesn’t know what tough is,_ I spat.

“Hey Spot,” Race said pulling me out of my hateful thoughts. “How’er we gonna get Lucks back?” I looked at him over my shoulder in question.

“We’s take her, simple as that.”

“Ha, like that’s gonna work. We’s might as well be on a suicide mission. Scar an’ his guys won’t go easy on us. No, we’s need somethin’ big to get ‘im off our backs once an’ for all.” I had to give it to him, he did have a point; this was our chance to get them for good, to end everything they’ve ever done. “What’s somethin’ big we’s can do?” We stopped to lean against a fence to think. For some reason Danny came to mind. His parents, they must be heartbroken to loose not one, but both of their children. _That’s it._

“What, what’s it?” I looked at him in question. “Youse said it out loud…”

“We’s tell her parents, they call the cops, and bust Scar and his guys.” For a second Race looked excited, but his face fell shortly afterwards.

“Youse mean ta tell her folks everythin’ don’t youse, Danny an’ all that?”

“The scabbers won’t listen to just us, an’ we need ta give her parents incentive to call ‘em in the first place. Who knows, they might’ve given up caring ‘bout their kids, both of ‘em disappearing an’ all. Losin’ someone can do somethin ta youse, make youse not care an’ all. We’s gotta make sure they care enough ta call ‘em.”

“So what do we do now? I could tell he was itching with eagerness and anxiety.

“We’s find where they’s are keeping her first,” I sighed as I stood up. “Then we’s go to her parents. Youse remember where they’s are?” Race nodded as he took out his cigar and a match.

 

~

I was holed up in a small looking room. It surprised me to see that Scar and his sidekicks were smart enough to cover my eyes so I wouldn’t know where exactly in Queens I was. Now I was tied to a chair in a small windowless room no bigger than the size of a closet. So far they hadn’t done any serious damage to me besides the pokes to my sides from their knives. _That’s gonna change_ , I thought. I hated to agree with myself, but I knew it was going to happen sooner or later. For now I could only wait. Wait for them to return, someone to find me, Spot to come. But who am I kidding, it’s not smart to get my hopes up. _What else should I think though?_ There was no doubt in my mind that Spot must’ve found my note by now; whether or not he thinks something is wrong…I had no idea. Just sitting and thinking was making me tired and I could feel my eyelids start to droop. It wouldn’t hurt if I just…closed my eyes…for a little bit…

 

~

“The hell youse want now Conlon?” West practically yelled once he saw me and Race in his doorway.

“Youse mean he actually has a job? Own office an’ everythin’,” Race said, only adding fuel to West’s never-ending fire.

“What’s wid the gambler here, taking him out for a little show an tell?” he spat back. _Man, none of the old leaders can think of good_ _comebacks can they?_ I asked myself causing a slight smirk to appear.

“Just cause I’s sell at Sheepshead don’t mean I’s a gambler…” He tried to sound confident but even he knew it was a blatant lie.

“That’s what I thought,” West snorted. “An’ what’d you expect I’s do for money as I got older huh? Ain’t no one can make a decent living selling papes the rest a their lives. Someday youse is gonna have ta grow up.” Then he turned towards me. “This why youse here, so I’s can give youse fuckin’ life lessons?” My smirk slowly faded into a deep-set frown.

“Where do they live?” Was all I said. The brief moment of silence that followed was filled with sudden tension. I could see a tight range of emotions pass through West’s eyes as he thought.

“Who…”

“Youse know who I’m talkin’ ‘bout,” I said sternly. We held a short glare at each other for another moment.

“Why?”

“Are youse serious?” Race asked in frustration. He was greeted again with West’s hate-filled glare. I waited a little bit, while also giving a look to Race, for things to calm down. We weren’t here for a fight, only answers.

“Your boys took one of mine. We’s wanna know where they’s could be,” I said calmly. West’s attention drifted back towards me.

“One a your’s huh?” he grinned. “Who?”

“Why you…”

“Youse know who,” I said loud enough to cut off Race’s insult. “Where. Are. They.” He kept the smile on his smug face.

“The abandoned warehouse over by Bailey’s shoe store,” he finally answered. “Youse know where it is?” This he aimed at Race. If facial expressions could make noises…Race’s would’ve growled. West just laughed it off. “Look whatever you’re thinkin’ in that head a yours Brookie, it’s a suicide mission.”

“Not if we’s get the bulls,” Race blurted out. I mentally smacked my forehead as I tried my best not to soak him right here and now.

“The bulls huh? Judgin’ by Brookie’s reaction here looks like ya should’ve kept that a secret.” At this point he stood up from his desk. “Just cause I ain’t livin’ in a lodgin’ house an’ sellin’ papes don’t mean I’s stopped carin’ bout my newsies. If anyone wants ta mess with ‘em, they’ve gotta get through me, an you’d be surprised by how dirty I’s can play. Now, get outta here before I’s make you.” I could feel my blood boiling as I stormed out of the room. _What now?_ I thought.

“Glad that’s over…”

“Shut your fuckin’ mouth you stupid…” I cut myself off before I said something I would later regret.

“Spot-“

“I said shut up!” I yelled. I could feel the veins in my neck pop out; I was just so angry. Our best shot at getting Scar and his goons for good, and getting Lucks safely back, were officially over; thanks to the blabber mouth next to me. I could tell he stopped walking and after a couple more steps I did too.

“Look Spot, I’m sorry I messed up.” We stayed where we were as I tried to calm myself down.

“It’s just…that was our only chance of getting’ those guys.”

“Yeah an’ when youse think youse is all safe West will com after youse! Youse heard what he said, and based on how he acted just now, imagine what he would do to youse if Scar an’ ‘em got put behind bars!”

“Well then what do you think, what do youse think we’s should do?” I asked thinking he wouldn’t answer me.

“We drag West into this too,” he simply said. He seemed so calm that I coulnd’t take him seriously.

“What are you…”

“Gunner.”

“Race youse know I can’t.”

“Youse saw it all happen; fuck, we all did! Youse saw West kill Gunner, and get away with it. He’s just as guilty as the rest of Queens.” I had to hand it to him, he had smarts; at least when money wasn’t involved. _If only things weren’t so damn complicated._


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little filler/flashback chapter!

_“Ugh, yes, harder!” She screamed as I was repeatedly thrusting into her. I was going in from behind her; she was on all fours on the bed, with one arm wrapped firmly around her waist and the other tightly grabbing her left breast. The sweat glistening on both of our hot bodies; we had been going at it for well over an hour now, going back and forth of who pleasured who. Pretty sure she would charge me again, but I didn’t care, it was worth it, I was celebrating._

_“Fuck!” She screamed as she came all over my dick, her body physically shaking from her climax. I knew she was done for now but I still pounded into her. It looked as if her body melted right into the bed but I didn’t skip a beat. Her moaning was loud enough that I had no doubt we could be heard in other rooms of the building._

_“Shit!” I moaned; it felt like I was going to burst. I could feel everything building up inside of me just waiting to be released. At that moment she flipped us over so she was on top riding me. She then did something that made me immediately climax: she reached behind her and squeezed my balls. I let out the loudest moan I had ever given in my life as I felt my whole body tense up. My high lasted minutes, I couldn’t move, paralyzed from ecstasy. She eventually picked herself up high enough until my tip was out of her and stuck her finger in her to clean herself._

_“Ugh, shit,” I panted as she got up from the bed to put on a robe._

_“That was good,” she smiled. “I didn’t think youse was gonna end.”_

_“Yeah, thought you’d charge me more,” I said while I sat up, still panting. She turned to me and only grinned._

_“You’ll be back.” She waited until I had moved to get my underwear and pants back on before leaving the room. “Oh, ‘scuse me.” At that I glanced over my shoulder to see Gunner standing in the doorway._

_“Youse next?” I joked as I picked my shirt up from the ground and finished getting dressed._

_“Ya know youse been here four times already…_ this _week right?” I shrugged, a smug smirk on, as I stood up to put on my suspenders and start on my shoes._

_“Youse keepin’ track?”_

_“Spot,” he said seriously. “You’ve been Brooklyn’s leada since Monday, five days ago. Out of those five days, youse spent four of ‘em here in this who…” He cut himself off in case any of the women heard him. I knew what he was going to say though._

_“Your point?” I snapped as I walked out into the hall, he followed in suit. “What a guy can’t celebrate?”_

_“Well, for one thing youse is only sixteen,” he said loud enough for only me to hear. “If any of the ladies here found out ‘bout that you’d be in big trouble. Youse is settin’ a bad example to the younger newsies, you’re their new leada. If they’s don’t take youse seriously now, they never will.” The more he kept talking the more I knew he was right and the angrier I got. “Plus, what would your dear aunt think a all this?”_

_“Look,” I snapped turning around to him, my face hot. “Just cause youse know ‘bout my aunt, doesn’t mean youse can ever talk ‘bout her, or visit her to update her on_ my _life.” He looked at me questioning if I was being serious._

_“Danny only told me cause he was worried ‘bout youse. An’ he knew that I’d be leada someday,” he gave a brief pause. “It’s a leada’s job ta take care of ‘is newsies.” I sighed and turned back around to start walking again._

_“What youse decide to leave an’ only come back cause youse wanna lecture me?”_

_“I came back cause I’s know what it feels like to be thrown into the position of leader. Youse say youse is celebrating, but I say youse is too nervous to step up, youse is distracting yourself from facing this new responsibility.” I froze, head tilted so far forward it looked like I was shrugging, my hands deep in my pockets. I couldn’t believe I was crying in broad daylight like a little kid. He was right. I never thought in my life I would be nervous about being the leader of the Brooklyn newsies, but here I was._

_“What happened to Dodger was just as sudden as what happened to Danny. I can help you Spot.” I quickly wiped my face with the crook of my elbow as he placed a hand on my back to guide me down the sidewalk._

_“The others,” I hesitantly started. “What are the others sayin’ behind my back?” While it had been a couple nights since I last stayed with the boys in the lodging house, I knew they were saying things about me. I was expecting Gunner to laugh, but instead he gave me a regretful look._

_“They’s think youse is too young, too immature; that you ain’t lookin’ out for ‘em like how Dodger did.”_

_“Yeah well I ain’t Dodger,” I subconsciously snapped. I didn’t mean to, but ever since I became leader it’s felt like everyone expects me to be just like Dodger._

_“I know what you’re feeling.” I was about to snap again but he beat me to it. “Youse need to establish to them that you are their leader an’ that you care ‘bout them. These are still dangerous times, and the boys need you now more than ever. Now I ain’t sayin’ that you can’t have some fun here an’ there, but not during sellin’ hours.”_

_We spent the rest of the day talking. Mostly about being a leader, but he also told me about his life after being a newsie. He said that while finding a job was hard, they were everywhere; just couldn’t be too picky. That’s how he got into shipbuilding as a job in Massachusetts. He seemed to really like it there too, even said something about a girl too. Everything was going fine too, until West showed up._

_“Oh well look who it is,” he sneered._

_“West,” Gunner said without any emotion. “I’s hear that youse is still leader a Queens.”_

_“Youse are correct.”_

_“What, tryin’ to stay a kid forever?”_

_“It ever occur to youse that they’s don’t want me to leave?” I gave a tsk._

_“What do youse want? Youse ain’t welcome here,” I said angrily. West faked looked around the deserted park with a hand to his chest before getting serious._

_“You ever think that youse was trespassin’ on Queen’s territory?”_

_“Last I checked ‘hattan owned this,” Gunner started._

_“Youse might wanna get your facts staright.” At this he started walking around us in a circle. “You see, I’s had a nice conversation with Specs today ‘bout that.” A chill went down my spine._

_“What’d you do?” I demanded, trying everything in my power to restrain myself. West just looked at me in disgust._

_“Who’s he?” he questioned Gunner._

_“Youse know who I am. I’m fucking Spot Conlon, leader of the Brooklyn newsies.”_

_“Oh are you now? No you see, I heard that Brooklyn’s leader was too busy getting to know_ all _the girls in the whore house to even care ‘bout his own boys.” In a matter of seconds I could feel Gunner’s ands around me holding me back. I calmed down enough for him to let go after a minute or two._

_“Now, let’s try this again: youse are on my territory. I’s recommend youse leave.”_

_“We’s ain’t leavin’ till youse tell us what you did to Specs!” All I could focus on was the fact that another innocent newsie was dead. Gunner was right, this didn’t end when Danny or Dodger left us. If anything it’s gotten worse._ When is it going to end?

_“I’s don’t associate myself with bad leaders.”_

_“Spot…”_

_“I ain’t a bad leader.”_

_“Don’t give me that bullshit, youse don’t even know the name of your second in command! If I’s were youse-“_

_“Don’t give me fucking advice on how to be a leader!”_

_“Spot..”_

_“New leaders reflect how the old leaders acted. I’s never knew how much Brooklyn loved their whores!” At that instant I darted for him._

_“Spot, no!” I heard Gunner frantically yell until he pushed me hard to my left. For some reason a loud band sounded as all of this was happening, and by the time I turned over to see what had happened, West was already running away. That’s when I saw Gunner on the ground, blood on his hand that rested on his chest. I scrambled to my feet and rushed to his side._

_“Gunner, wha-what happened, ho-how did this happen?”_

_“H-he had a gun,” he managed to choke out. “He would…have shot you.”_

_“An’ he should’ve! Why’d you do that?” Tears were streaming down my face now._

_“It’s not time…for Brooklyn to have…another leader,” he took a short pause to regain some of the fleeting strength he had left. “Youse can do it Spot. Youse can end it all. Youse were meant to be leader…Youse were meant to be king.” He was barely audible but I could still hear him. Then, just like I had seen with Dodger and Danny, the light from his eyes faded into eternal darkness._


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please check added tags!

We were just passing Bailey's store on the corner when Race stopped to put out his cigar. He looked at me in question of what we were going to do.

"Alright," I started. "We's need to be absolutely sure that this is where they have her. Which means we's need to find a way in." Race gave a hesitated nod and we started on our way. The old warehouse used to be a sewing company. The building was pretty small so once the company had enough money they built a bigger and so called better building somewhere else. I only knew about it cause it made front-page headlines a few years back. While the building was known as the old warehouse, it was still in good condition. That meant good news for us; the fire escape was still useable. We moved through the messy alley and located the ladder.

"Give me a boost will ya?" I asked Race. He crouched down and placed his hands out like a step. I put my foot on them and he hoisted me up. With our height I was just able to reach the last ring on the ladder and pulled it down. As we were making our way up Race spoke.

"What do we's do if the window's locked?" I moved out of the way so he could get up.

"Don't know, probably bust it open. It won't matter if they find out 'bout it. I's don't doubt the fact that West is most likey send a birdie to 'em right now." I positioned myself to open the window. "Either way they'll find out soon that we's are after Lucks, so we's betta move fast." I pushed up expecting resistence but almost fell into the room. The window wasn't locked at all, opened right up. I motioned back to Race to follow me inside.

The smell was almost unbearable, like something had died inside. There was also dust everywhere; we could see the particles floating past the pale light of the windows.

"Man, you'd think they's would clean every once in a while," Race coughed as he swiped the dust away from his face.

"Somethin' tells me this is more like their hideout," I said quietly. "The company probably still owns the buildin'; it never got put up for market." It looked like we were on the third floor. We stood on a walkway that overlooked the main sewing floor. Below us we could see, what used to be, the rows of where the machines and workers would be set up. On one end of the walkway was a set of stairs down, while the other way led to a closed up office.

"Guess we have nowhere else to go 'cept down." I nodded to agree with Race and we quietly started walking.

"So," I started. "What happened 'tween you an' West?"

"I's don't know-"

"Don't play dumb wid me Race. What happened?" I could feel his glare on me but I didn't acknowledge him. Finally, as we neared the end of the stairs, he let out a sigh.

"A long time ago, my pops used to go to the shop. One day, I decided to go there with my little sister. West and some of his guys were standing by the corner an' started pickin on me and my sister for being Italian. One thing led to another and next thing I's know, my sister got pushed into the street just as a carriage was passin'. She died in my arms minutes after." His whole story caught me by surprise that I stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder. I actually felt bad for never taking the time to get to know race. He was just always around and always had something to say. It made getting personal with him hard. He noticed me pained expression and gave a halfhearted chuckle.

"Hey don't worry 'bout me or anythin'. It happened, I got over it fast an' moved on." It was starting to make sense now. The sudden loss of his daughter drove Race's father mad. He probably kicked Race out, and to deal with everything he gambles; an unfortunate trait Race inherited. The thoughts I was thinking reminded me of something.

"I'm sorry Race," I started. "Youse should know I told Lucks youse used to pick pockets…" Ok, so I wasn't the best at timing things, but something tells me Race found solace in becoming friends with Lucks. She's the sister he lost; the sister he never really had. He just shook his head and laughed.

"She makes youse weak," he mumbled. I was about to ask him what he said but he beat me to it. "I figured she'd find out eventually." We made our way past the leftover rubble to a set of doors. After quietly opening them we saw that they led to yet another hallway.

"What 'bout youse?" Race asked while we walked. "Youse know how I became the way I am. How 'bout you?" Just as I had decided to open my mouth a noise sounded up ahead of us, followed by a mumbled scream.

"Guess that's a story for another time. Let's go."

* * *

I was greeted with a hand slap to the face to wake me up.

"Wakey, wakey," Scar sneered in my left ear. What I opened my eyes I saw Knuckles in front of me, Dagger was leaning in the doorframe, and Scar was behind me, his hands on my shoulders. I heard a snap and without hesitation Knuckles and Dagger moved to untie my wrists from the arms of the chair.

"Well I's certainly hope youse is well rested."

"Why do you say that?" I asked wincing at my voice.  _Water would be nice,_  I thought as Scar grabbed my arm and started guiding me out.

"Cause youse is gonna be busy all night," he smirked. A part of me froze but he continued pushing me down the hallway. I took a moment to look at my surroundings and was surprised at where we were. The place was a complete mess with things all over the floor, mold creeping on the sides of the walls. I bet if I looked carefully I would see a mouse run by. I shuddered at the thought. We neared a room and he pushed me in. It took me a good moment to realize I had landed on something soft.  _A bed,_  I thought. I quickly turned, so I was on my back propped up by my elbows, to see Scar lock the door behind him.

"What's going on?" I rushed out. He looked at me expectantly and leaned against the door.

"Well, those two bozo's 'll keep watch while we's have a little fun." A creepy smirk spread across his face as he started to make his way closer to me.

"Why youse need 'em to keep watch?" I tried so hard to keep myself composed. "What are they's looking for?" If I could keep him occupied he wouldn't think about doing what I feared.

"Not what," he said, voice slightly strained as he began crawling on top of me. "But who," he whispered as he reached my face. He forcefully pushed me down so I was flat on my back before caressing the side of my face. "Youse see, Brookie himself is on his way to get youse." His hand moved to my torso. "It's a shame he'll be too late." At that he swooped in and attacked my neck. I screamed as loud as I could while trying to get him off of me. This couldn't be happening. So much has happened in my life, but I didn't want to add this to the list. He had already started fumbling with my clothes, groping me everywhere and was about to unbutton when the door burst open.

"Scar," one of them almost yelled. He let out an actual growl over me before picking himself up and turning to face them.

"What," he snapped viciously. "What could be  _so_  important youse two come in here?"

"Someone's in the buildin'," Knuckles said almost trembling in his shoes. This sparked interest in Scar as he thought about it for a minute.

"What should we's do?" Dagger stupidly asked.

"Oh gee I's don't know, how 'bout fuckin' get 'em!" His face was red now. "They's is trespassin' on Queen's territory, our territory. Teach 'em a lesson an' get 'em outta here!" With that they both scrambled out of the room and hurried down the hall. Closing the door shut with a slam, Scar took a minute to lean on it to do a few sighs, composing himself, before turning back around to me.

"Now, where were we?" he made his way to me but before he could even lay a hand on me there was a crashing sound that came from the opposite end of the hall. He growled again muttering to himself as he went to the door. "Don't youse dare think 'bout movin' or openin' the door for anyone!" he yelled to me before leaving the room.

I was scared, I didn't know what was going on. There was mumbled talking outside the door followed by footsteps disappearing down the hall. I balled myself up in the farthest corner of the room, shaking uncontrollably. I nearly jumped a mile when I heard the door handle shake. I don't know what would happen if it was Scar again. I ducked my head under my arms as tears streamed down my face at the thought.

"Lucks," a familiar voice called from the other side of the door. "Lucks it's me." That's all I needed to hear are I quickly got up and flung myself at the door. Before it was fully open his arms were around me. He backed me up so we were in the room, door slightly ajar. It felt good having his strong protective arms around me. His grip tightened as I just cried. After about a minute he gently pushed me back so he could see my face.

"Are youse alright?" he asked, concern seeping into his tone. "Did he do anything?" At that more tears came which made my crying even harder. Apparently that gave Spot the wrong answer. "Oh I'm gonna murder 'im," he practically growled as he stormed to the door. I panicked as I almost lsot his touch and found my voice.

"No!" I pulled him back from the door and he wrapped his arms back around me. "He almost did, he almost did," I mumbled into his chest. I could feel him give a sigh of relief before gently pushing me back again.

"I'm still gonna murder 'im for doin' this to youse." I could tell he was only joking but instead of giving an answer I only tightened my grip. A clang from somewhere in the far end of the hallway snapped both of us back into reality.

"Look Lucks, I can't stay."  _No, don't leave me again,_  I frantically thought. "Don't youse worry, I'll be back tomorrow. Race is keeping those goons distracted…"

"I don't want you to leave!" I cried into his chest.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said comfortingly. "I's got a plan to get 'em for good, to get 'em locked up forever. But for now I's gotta go set it in motion."

"But what if he tries to take advantage of me again?"

"Then punch 'im in the jaw! Lucks, youse is a tough girl. Youse may not think it, but I know youse are." We started hearing footsteps at the very end of the hall. "I's need to go; youse can do it, don't underestimate yourself." Before I could even process his words, he gently, yet roughly, grabbed my face and gave me the shortest most passionate kiss he had ever given me. And then he was gone.  _I knew I wasn't like others._

* * *

I raced out of the room cursing myself to death in my head for leaving without Lucks by my side. Of course it was hard to do, leaving her to those sick bastards for the night. And the fact that I kissed her…I  _kissed_  her. I fucking kissed her then left. I had managed to run out of the warehouse and down to the corner of Bailey's. Having decided I was a good distance away, I voiced my frustrations and kicked at the outside brick wall.

"Calm down there pretty boy," I heard Race's voice call out as he came out from behind the back wall. He startled me since he literally came out of nowhere.

"Where'd youse come from?"

"The back alley," he shrugged. "Did you see her?"

"Yeah," I said with a low head. "She was shaken up. Scar he…he almost raped her Race." I glanced up to see him give a solemn face. "She was beggin' me not to leave. Race I've never seen her like that. Ugh…" I was trying so hard to keep my anger controlled but was failing miserably. "Youse sure they's didn't see ya?" I asked, trying to focus.

"Positive, youse kiddin' me? Those goons are gonna hurt themselves tryin' to think who played 'em," Race reassured. "The last thing they'll do is leave to tell West what happened."

"What if West goes to them?" I hated to think it but there couldn't be any open ends in our plan.

"I doubt it," Race spat. "I's never like 'im, an' he sure as hell never liked either of us, but the fact that he told us where they's were; Spot, it's time those guys got what's comin'. We know it, West knows it."

"Yeah but they're 'is boys…"

"He said he protects his newsies, I get it, but we's gotta take the chance that he meant sendin' them to jail." I gave him a hard stare until he sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Look, I know this is probably the biggest risk you've probably ever had to take, but it's all we's got." I mulled his words over before giving a slight nod.

"I'll meet youse tomorrow mornin' at 'hattan's lodgin house," was all I said before walking down the street.

* * *

"So what are you going to do?" Del asked, a hand resting between my shoulders. I had made my way over to Del's and blabbed everything to her, anger coursing through my veins as I did so. I wanted to kill them for all the trouble they've caused not to just me and the newsies, but to Lucks and her family. If these guys didn't exist she would still have her brother; she would still be a normal girl with her family and who would've had a real education instead of learning about life from the streets.

"I'm gonna get 'em good," I fiercely muttered before standing up. The silence was thick as I leaned on my elbow to stare out the window.

"Spot don't tell me you're going to…" the low-lying sense of panic was clear.

"Relax Del," I sighed as I turned around to face her. "I gotta friend who know's where her folks live. We's are gonna go to 'em an' tell 'em everythin' that happened. They'll tell the police an' from there I'll lead 'em to those bas…" I paused so as not to further worry Del, and to get my temper in check. "The police'll arrest 'em an' Lucks…"

"Will be reunited with her parents." I froze. Of course this wasn't the first time I thought about it. I knew ever since I thought of this plan that there was the chance that I could loose Lucks. There was no doubt that her parents would want her staying away from the newsies. In fact it would be best for her in the long run; she'd go to school, make some decent friends, find a nice guy with a good job, have a few kids. She would have her life back, the life she was supposed to have.

"Yeah…" I said coming back to reality. "It's what's best for her." I mulled my way over to a chair, suddenly exhausted.

"What about you?" Del calmly asked. I opened my closed eyes to look at her in question. "You love her, it's pretty obvious. You'd do all of this knowing you'll loose her in the end?"

"I would do anything if it meant her safety," I said without hesitation.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a new chapter! Wow you all probably hate me. I apologize and trust when I say all chapters will be up V soon. (Tbh I completely forgot I was uploading this I honestly thought I had finished I'm SO sorry)


	18. Chapter 18

I woke with a slight jump in my seat, startled. It was like my subconscious realized I had fallen asleep when I didn't want to. There was no time to sleep knowing that Lucks was so scared. I should be thinking of back-up plans, thinking of every possible way to rescue her while making sure Scar, Knuckles, and Dagger get what they deserve. Looking around the room I saw that there was one candle lit.  _Del must be sleeping,_  I thought as I got up to blow the candle out. Before leaving I took one quick glance behind m. She didn't deserve this life either. I always hated telling her what was going on in the newsie world. But I always did because I know she would worry even more not knowing the truth. I'm closer to her than I am my own mother. Snapping back to reality, I tsked at myself and left the house.

"Well, well, well," I froze. My back was to him, my shoulders nearly up to my ears.  _How'd he find me?_  I snapped in my head as I turned around.

"West," my voice came out sharp making up for the fat that I was suddenly very nervous.

"So the mighty King a Brooklyn's got his self a family huh; the rest of your guys know?"

"The hell you want?" I snapped staying on the stairs so I could look down on him.

"Relax," he reassured, hoping I would give in. He rolled his eyes with an incredulous look. "I's ain't here for what youse is thinkin'. Walk wid me." He went on his way down the sidewalk going slow so I could catch up. I hesitated, drawing in a deep sigh.  _I know I'm going to regret this_.

"What do ya want?" I asked once I caught up. He was casual with his hands in his pockets, hat set neatly on his head.

"I'm here ta thank ya." I stopped in shock. We had just reached a corner, both of us stopped in our steps. "Youse don't know how dangerous Scar, Knuckles, and Dagger were…are."

"Are...are youse fuckin' serious?" he whipped around at my question.

"Look I's ain't sayin' I'm innocent, I's know what I did an I regret it everyday. Youse think I want ta be workin' the job I got? Youse think I was such a great leada cause we beat up every newsie in town? Look at where my boys ended up: jail, on the run, dead. I want to protect 'em, but it's outta my control." I took a moment to let his words sink in. I don't know what I couldn't believe more, the fact that Race was right, or the fact that this was actually happening right now. I wasn't stupid enough to believe that West was the best leader ever, but at the same time a part of me wanted to emulate his toughness. No one messed with him, but that's only because he messed with everyone before they could do him. It was hard to believe the emotions he might have right now, the sense of failure, feeling desperate enough to go to someone else to thank them for doing what he couldn't. I know it would be humane of me to feel some sympathy, but all I could think about was how pathetic it is. All I could think about was how much of a better leader I was than West.

"So youse is fine wid me puttin' your guys in jail," I didn't ask but more so state. He nodded, letting the silence of the night seep in. "What's the catch?" There's always something, even when there's nothing.

"Simple, youse don't tell a single soul what I did tonight."

"Or else?"

"Or else I go afta ya family." My heart stopped a beat as my gaze went to glare in less than a second. West started a light chuckle. "Youse ain't so bad afta all." He started to walk again. Before I had a chance to walk away, he called out to me.

"They's ain't goin' anywhere till ten tomorrow mornin'," he said matter-of-fact.

"How…"

"I asked 'em to meet me. So, I's recommend youse get an early start." He gave a slight smile before turning the corner disappearing into the night. A part of me was still skeptical as to why he would tell me all of this, why would he help me after everything we've been through?

* * *

The break of dawn found me in front of the Manhatan Newsies Lodging House. It looked pretty quiet what with the strike, an odd sight in these parts. I was about to head in to get Race when I saw Boots come skittering around the corner.

"Spot," he exclaimed out of breath.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?"

"I gotta wake up the boys, we's got a pape ta spread word 'bout the strike, we's need all the help we's can get ta convince other workin kids ta join us." Poor kid could barely catch his breath; must've run all the way from wherever he came from.

"Well if youse see Jack tell 'im Brooklyn's in. Any of youse see my guys give 'em some papes an' tell 'em to spread word." He smiled and nodded in response before rushing into the hosue.

"Heya Spot," Race greeted as he approached, papers in his hands. I wasted no time in greeting him or questioning where he came from. It was evident to me that he must've come from the same place as Boots since he carried a stack of papers.

"Let's go." It was a relatively quick and short walk until we stood right in front of the door to Lucks' house. A wave of nerves swelled through me. I stood frozen looking at the door.

"Oh," Race scoffed. "Don't tell me youse is yellow. If anythin' it should be me." I took a deep breath, ignoring his comment, before knocking on the door.

"What are you doing here?" a man, who I could only presume was Lucks' father. His accusation was pointed to Race. In fact his full attention was to Race.

"I-I'm sorry sir," Race almost stuttered. He then looked to me. "I's gotta go help Jack anyways." Judging by his tone he wasn't mad, like he knew this was going to happen. He trudged down the front steps and down the sidewalk.

"And what of you?" he snapped.  _Here goes nothing…_

"Hello sir, I apologize for disrupting your morning. My name is Sean Conlon, I'm a friend of your children."

"Are you one of those street kids?" his anger was boiling, probably because I mentioned his hids.

"Sir please, I know who murdered your son." Right after I said that I noticed him falter a bit. I could tell he didn't know what to do, and was pleasantly surprised to see him move out of the way to let me in. He guided me into a side room and motioned me to sit.

"Margret," he called from the doorframe. Soon after a woman came into the room shocked by my presence. Having both of Lucks' parents in the room, seeing them for the first time, I could see just how alike her and Danny looked to them. They both sat across from me, worry etched into their faces.

"Explain," he said roughly. I cleared my throat before starting.

"Hello ma'm, I'm Sean Conlon, a friend of your kids…"

"But they're both dead," she rushed at me, tears already falling. Her husbanded soothed her and looked at me to continue.

"Your daughter, Alyssa is still alive; I'll explain in a moment. About Danny, I was there with him when it happened. You may have known he was with the Brooklyn newsies, became leader. He looked after a lot of the boys; I thought of him as a brother. When that night happened Alyssa wanted to see him, talk to him. The only way she heard news of him was through Race, the guy who was with me today. Believe me when I say that he has never harmed your daughter, he looks out for her as if she was his own sister." I paused a moment to clear my throat again.

"There were three guys who had cornered Alyssa in an alley. In a way it was my fault, they were beating me up when she tried to get them to stop. They turned on her, but Danny came before they did anything," So I kept some of the truth from them, but it wasn't my place to let them know every gory detail that happened to their children. "Danny ordered me to bring her to safety, to the lodging house. I couldn't say no, and by the time I got back with help he was still being beaten. We eventually ran the guys off but not before it was too late. There was nothing we could've done to save him." More tears streamed down Mrs. Daley's cheeks. I felt horrible reliving these moments, to tell these moments to parents. They had no idea, only that their children were victims of gang violence. The scene in front of me was enough to bring the prickling sensation of tears threatening of forming. I took a deep breath before continuing.

"Those times in the newsie world were the most dangerous they've ever been. Innocent boys being murdered left and right. The new leader of Brooklyn didn't think it safe for Alyssa to return home to you, that those guys could have followed her and attacked you all; so she stayed. Which brings me to now, she's in trouble. The same three guys who murdered your son have her. I tried my best to keep her safe as the current leader of Brooklyn, but because of that I failed to tell her just what danger she was in. She tried to confront them, but she fell right into their plan."

"So where is she, is she alright?" her father rushed out.

"They're in the old warehouse in Queens. I managed to sneak in with help from Race and was able to see her for a few moments. She was fine, but scared…" again hiding the actual truth, only to keep her parents from completely breaking down. "I've come to you because things are out of my hand."

"Why wouldn't you go to the police?" her mother asked frantically.

"As a newsie, it would be hard for them to believe me or even take notice. Also with the rising strike, I would most likely get ignored. I would get treated much like how you treated my friend; I mean no disrespect." We sat in silence as they took a moment to grasp everything I had just said. They shared a longing glance before looking at me with a mixture of determination in their looks of worry.

"We'll do everything we can to help get our daughter back," her father said. I was both relieved and greatly saddened. He had said what I had both hoped for and feared at the same time. I could loose Lucks forever, just to save her; but that was the problem, I had to save her. As long as she was safe…

* * *

It felt like things were moving so fast. One minute I had been sitting in front of Lucks' parents, the next we were rushing to find any officer in town, and now we stood in front of the entrance to the warehouse. We had gathered about four officers; I had suggested a handful because the strength of Knuckles, Dagger, and especially Scar, was overwhelming. It was a strange feeling having the bulls on my side for once.

"I'll go in first, distract 'em, then you guys surround 'em," I said as I went to the back fire escape. It was the only entrance I was sure enough would be quiet and unseen. When I got to the top I slid the window open to find the same dirtied lifeless room as before and climbed in. When I made it into the hall I stopped in my tracks.

"Knew you'd be back," Scar sneered before nodding his head as a signal for Dagger to pop out from where he was hiding and grab me. Living up to his idiotic name, he stabbed me in my side in the process. He then dragged me to the room where they held Lucks.

"Spot!" she exclaimed once she saw me.

"Aw, your poor lover boy here's hurt," Scar teased. "Make sure he doesn't escape. I wanna make sure he see's everythin'." He made his way to Lucks, grabbing her roughly by her hair when he reached her. She tried getting away from his touch but he only pulled her closer to him. His actions made me want to murder him even more than I ever thought possible, but I knew I had to stall him; help was on the way.

"Hey!" I yelled, hoping I was loud enough for any one of those bulls to hear me. "Get your fuckin' hands off her before I's do somethin' I'll regret!" That caught his attention. You could almost see his ears perk up as he slightly turned his head towards me.

"Oh, an what would that be?" To my relief he completely let go of Lucks and made his way to me. "Hate to mention this to you Brookie, but youse ain't doin' so good. Oh, an youse even got some blood on your shirt, there, right there. Now that's gotta sting; mind if I…" he slammed a fist to where I was stabbed making me hunch over in pain.

"Spot!"

"It's ok Lucks," I managed to get out before getting punched in the face. If Dagger and Knuckles weren't holding me I would've definitely hit the wall behind me.

"Yeah Lucks," Scar icily spoke. "It's alright, you sit back and watch as I deform little Brookie here." He went back to using me as his own punching bag. As my head lolled to the side I could see Lucks' face, sadness wrapped up in despair. For a split second I swore I could've seen her eyes light up, but I couldn't tell if it happened before the darkness consumed my eyes or after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and let me know what you think!


	19. Chapter 19

When I first met Spot Conlon I thought him to be a big jerk who didn't have any feelings or emotions besides anger. I had never thought him to ever care for me, or love me for that matter. I never thought I would be forever indebted to him. He's taken care of me for so long and was willing to risk everything just to save me. If I thought back then that he would've done this I would've been crazy.  _He's grown so much,_  I thought as I moved some hair off his forehead.

"How's his temperature?" my mother asked as she came back into the room. She carried a damp rag to place on Spot's head.

"I think it's getting better," I responded while moving out of her way. It felt awkward being here; Spot lying in the bed I used as a child. Looking around my room, it seems to not have changed since I left.

"It's nice you know," my mother spoke while making her way towards me.  
"Having you back with us." She gave me a gentle hug. I followed her out of the room. "Now you're sure you're alright, you're not hurt or anything?" My mother questioned. We had made our way to the gathering room, she sat beside me on the couch while my father sat across from us in a chair.

"I'm fine, really. I'm more worried 'bout Spot." I noticed my father give a small cringe as I spoke. We sat in silence until he broke it.

"Well now that you're back we'll have to figure out your schooling. I'm sure your mother wouldn't mind giving you some lessons here at home." Both my mother and I stared back in shock. "You are staying are you not? Surely you don't plan on going back to those…those…"

"Street kids?" Spot interjected from the doorframe.

"Richard," mother spoke with a tight grip on my hand. "Alyssa has a life with the newsies. We can't just assume she'll come right back to us."

"It's dangerous Margret…"

"Only 'cause of Scar, Knuckles, and Dagger but they're one now." I confidently stated.

"And, sir," Spot said after clearing his throat. "I would be more than willing to risk my life to make sure your daughter is safe."

"About that, boy, why do you care so much for our daughter?"

"Richard I don't think…"

"No ma'am I don't mind. Ever since that night I've been looking out for Alyssa. Over time I've noticed what feelings have developed…"

"Feelings?" My father questioned.

"Sir, I love your daughter," Spot didn't hesitate at all. His stance was wide and full, with a determined face which made my heart swell. "An not saying that my feelings for her are reason to stay with the newsies, but just know that whatever happens now, I will still be a part of Alyssa's life. It took all of my strength not to run up and embrace him. This was the first time he ever spoke like that about me…about anyone for that matter. My father swung his head towards me.

"You feel the same way about this boy?" I simply nodded while tears pricked at my eyes.

"Dear it's your choice," my mother soothed as she rubbed my shoulder while giving me a side hug. "No matter what you decide you will always be welcome home with us." I took a moment to look at everyone in the room. My mother, she's always been so caring and gently to everyone she's met. She was so honored to be working in the hospital. Finding out she lost both of her kids to gang violence, she must've been absolutely devastated. My father, whose always been a headstrong business man and gentleman and loving husband, had to comfort her while knowing that he lost his children forever. I would hate to have him think he's lost me again. While I love my parents deeply and want to stay with them, I can't leave Spot. He's protected me ever since he met me. Out of everyone in my life, including Race, my father, even Danny, I feel the safest with Spot.

"Mother, father," I started as I held my mother's hand just as tightly as she held mine. "While I know that you've missed me just as much as I've missed youse, I can't just leave the newsies. I've grown so accustomed to their life that I'm afraid I won't be able to fit in with the life you want me to have." I saw the look in my father's eyes slightly dim and his shoulders slumped. "However I don't want you to think you've lost me again. I would love it if mother could give me some lessons here." I hadn't put much thought into it, but once the words spilled out, I knew that it was the truth. I really did want to stay and further my education. I could feel my mother swell with excitement over my decision.

"It's settled then," my father declared as he stood up. "During the week you'll stay with the newsies, earn your money, stay with your friends and eh…Sean was it?" Spot merely nodded from where he stood. "Right, and on the weekends you'll remain with us where your mother and I will give you educational lessons." My mother and I stood up and I rushed over to hug my father for the first time in years. I missed his strong embrace, the smell of his last cigar lingering on his clothing. When I opened my closed eyes I noticed Spot starting to leave.

"Are you sure you're feeling alright?" my mother asked before I could.

"I've been in worse conditions, believe me," he said with a small smile. "'Sides I's gotta check on the strike, see what Cowboy's gotten himself into."  _The strike_. I had completely forgotten about the strike. I looked eagerly to both my father and mother. Of course I would seek out their permission to go, I would've felt bad just getting home for the first time since I was twelve only to walk right out the door as if they weren't my parents. My father got out of our embrace and moved to place one arm around my mother's shoulder.

"You may go," he said with a gentle smile. Before we left I rushed back over to engulf the both of them in one more hug. I couldn't help myself, I really missed my parents, and I was so grateful to get to be with them again.

* * *

"So tell me what I missed," Spot said once we were walking down the sidewalk. "I's remember Scar beatin' the crap outta me an' that's pretty much it." We walked side by side, Spot with his hands in his pockets.

"Not much," he gave me a look but I kept going. "Honestly, the bulls came in an' shot Scar right before he hit your head. Then Knuckles and Dagger let go of you, you fell to the floor, and they went willingly. My father then had you moved to our house where their private doctor took care of your stab wound. After my mother tended to your fever. She works at the hospital so you were in good hands." He looked impressed, with a smug look on his face. I just smiled in response.

"Youse love…" I got cut off by a sudden exclamation ahead of us.

"There youse two are!" Race yelled as he ran over to us. "Lucks I's sure is happy ta see youse!" He hugged me so hard my feet were off the ground. Once he set me down he looked to Spot. "Geez there ain't a day that goes by where youse don't look like you've had the shit beat outta ya," he joked. He was lucky Spot was in a good mood or else he would've deeply regretted that.

"What's goin' on Race?" Spot questioned.

"What's goin' on, what's goin' on, he just ask me that? The fuckin' strike." We both looked at him expectantly. "We's won the fuckin' strike!" Spot and I shared looks of shock before the smiles took over.

"Guess Jacky-Boy did it after all."

"We's is all celebratin' at Tibby's tonight, youse is welcome to come. I's bet Jack would wanna talk to youse."

"I bet he would," Spot said as Race went on his way with a smile and a stack of papes. We watched him go until we couldn't, the buzz of excitement still humming in the heart of Manhattan.

"Hard ta believe so much has happened an' it's only the afternoon edition," Spot said as we turned in the direction of Brooklyn.

"Sure is," I agreed.

"Yes," he said as we started walking. I looked to him, confused as to what he said. He gave a light laugh when he saw my reaction and placed his arm around my shoulders. "Yes I do love youse. Have for a good while now." I immediately looked down once I felt the blush take over my face. I barely noticed when we stopped walking until I felt his fingers on my chin raising my head up.

"I love you Alyssa Daley," he spoke with a passion in his eyes before placing his lips on mine.  _I love you too Sean Conlon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and let me know what you think! The end is almost near! (Also in case you forgot this whole story is unbeta'd so there are a lot of grammatical errors and for that I apologize, but I'm not going through it all and fixing them so yeah...)


	20. Chapter 20

I was surprised we made it back to the lodging house what with all of our frantic kissing. In a matter of seconds we were up the stairs and in my room, door closed, clothes starting to come off. Spot sat me down on the bed; hands gently placed at either side of my face holding me still as he passionately kissed me. When we parted he had his signature smirk on before lightly pushing me back as he started to take off my underwear. He then made his way up to my chest and fondled it while placing kisses everywhere; I moaned in response to his touch. He did this until he got down to my sweet spot and from there started alternating between sucking and nibbling. I couldn't stop myself from squirming in delight as he did this. It wasn't long until he slipped in a finger, and at that I almost lost it.

"Spot," I moaned. "I'm close." That's all it took for him to stop completely. I was quick to open my eyes wide and question why he did so but he put my curiousness at ease when he kissed me.

"Don't worry, I ain't done yet," he smirked as he positioned himself at my entrance. He slid in, slowly, and my hands wrapped around his back. Once he was fully in he started a slow back and forth rhythm, which in all honesty was driving me crazy. I'm sure he could tell what with my moans and exclamations. We finally changed positions, me on top, and I couldn't hold back any more. If it wasn't for his strong hands holding me by my waist, controlling and guiding how high and how fast I should go, I would've basically been jumping on him. I'm surprised he doesn't think me insane and crazy for how I was acting. Only he could make me feel this way.

"I'm close!" I said a little too loudly for my liking, and he held me down as I grinded against him as my high came. I was physically shaking at how forceful it was. Spot only smiled, a genuine smile this time, as he sat up and engulfed me in his arms.

"That good huh?" he said with a light laugh. I gave him a smirk as I wrapped my hands around his neck and pushed him back down against the bed.

"Your turn." I immediately went for his neck, nibbling here and there as my hands rubbed against his chest. It was music to my ears to hear him moan. I made my way down to his member and firmly, yet gently, squeezed my hand. He subtly flinched as the most innocent gasp sounded from him. Never in a million years did I ever think the Spot Conlon could sound as vulnerable as he did just now, and I fell in love with it. The fact I could make the toughest person I had ever known feel this way from my touches, it was all intoxicating; I couldn't get enough of it. I almost drove him over the edge when he made me stop. I gave him a confused look in response. Before I managed to say anything he quickly sat up, grabbed my by my elbows and flipped us over almost growling while he did it. He nipped at my neck as he entered me. His gentle roughness brought a new wave of passion into this making everything feel so much more intense. It was almost like we were both desperate for each other's touches, to explore every inch of each other's bodies. He pumped harder and faster while taking my breast in his hand. My nails clawed at his back no doubt leaving light scars. We were lost in the moment, completely enraptured by our emotions. He almost lost me, I almost lost him; he saved me, and even reunited me with my parents. Every emotion and feeling we had towards one another was being shared right now in this moment as we both neared our climaxes.

"Oh Spot," I moaned bringing him in for a kiss. We reached our high point together which made us break our kiss. There was a brief moment of quiet as our highs started to come down before our heavy panting started.

"I love you," I said out of breath. We engulfed each other in our arms and got even closer, if it was physically possible.

"I love you too," he whispered over my lips.

* * *

The morning sun broke through the window, spilling into the room. I could tell it rested on Spot's back since it wasn't waking either of us up. We were so close to each other I could feel his gentle breathing. His arm rested on my waist; limp but still strong, holding me close. A part of me didn't want last night to end. I didn't want to wake up and start the day because the remaining feelings of last night would be gone. Last night was the first night in years the both of us could go to sleep without having to worry about facing Scar and his gang. Yesterday marked the official end of the turf war violence. Now all we had to worry about was our future. What would happen next? Spot's eighteen; he most likely has one more year left with the newsies before he has to find a job. He's already too old to be selling, and his charms can only sell so many papers. And what about me? The only think I know how to do is sell papers.

Spot moved slightly while taking a deep yawn.

"What's got youse so tense this early in the mornin'?"

"How do you know I'm tense?" I asked, surprised he knew. He chuckled a little bit with his deep, husky, groggy morning voice.

"All your muscles tightened, Lucks youse is stiff as a board." He finally opened his beautiful eyes for me. "What are youse thinkin' 'bout?" I paused, looking deeply into his eyes before snuggling into his chest.

"Just thinkin' 'bout what happens next is all."

"Simple," he said as he moved his hand to rest on my shoulder. "We's go back ta sellin' papes an' livin' our lives." The silence that followed didn't feel settled. Spot then sighed as he moved his other hand to my waist so he held me close.

"After a little while I'll get a job, Brooklyn'll have a new leader. We'll find a place ta live, in Brooklyn of course, an' we'll be happy." I couldn't hide the wide smile on my face, and while he couldn't see it he could definitely feel it. We continued to lie like that until we could hear the boys downstairs start to get ready for the day.

"We's should probably get ready," I said as I started to move. He was reluctant to let me go, which was surprising. Eventually he did and before I left to get changed I gave him a quick kiss.

* * *

"Well, well," Race excitingly called out when he saw Spot and I. We had just finished selling our papers of the afternoon edition and were just walking around.

"How's it goin' Race?" Spot greeted.

"It's goin' great now that I's can sell again. Lot of the boys been sellin' more papes than before, includin' yours truly. Thought I'd test my luck over at Sheepshead."

"I don't doubt a lot of the guys have been feelin' lucky today." We all laughed together before saying our goodbyes and going our separate ways. Spot lead the way, while holding my hand, as we walked.

"He loves you, you know," he said casually. "As if you were 'is own sister." I felt comforted by his words and squeezed his hand.

"I feel the same way," I admitted. "When Danny was a newsie he was rarely ever home. Then when I met Race, and kept seeing 'im we became friends. We had been friends for a while before I told 'im 'bout Dannny, then after that he'd tell me what he knew Danny was up to."

"You knew he was a good guy huh?"

"Maybe not when I first met 'im, but he became one after he met me." Spot only smiled while lightly shaking his head and steering us down the sidewalk.

* * *

_I could get used to this,_  I thought as we walked around. I had no idea where we were going, if we were going anywhere specific that is. We had crossed back into Brooklyn a while ago and were now aimlessly walking the sidewalk, occasionally taking a left or right here and there. We talked about little things but for the majority of the walk we were silent. I didn't care though, as long as I was with Spot we could go anywhere and I'd be completely fine with it.

"So I was thinkin'," he started. We had just turned down a street I'd never been on.

"There's never a time when youse ain't," I joked. He only smiled in response before continuing.

"I want youse to meet someone." My playful mood faltered slightly. Had he said it differently I would've been fine with it, but he was hesitant; whenever he's hesitant it means something.

"Ok," I said slowly hoping he would further explain. I also noticed that we started to slow down our walking speed.

"Look Lucks, I love you, and because of that I want you to know everythin'." I wasn't sure why I was getting so nervous all of a sudden. His whole demeanor showed that he was serious.  _What else has he been hiding from me?_  I hated to think it. He suddenly turned us left towards a house, and started up it's steps. When we got to the door he looked at me with a small smile while giving my hand a light squeeze before knocking. It didn't take long until someone answered the door, my heart pounding the whole time. I was surprised to see a woman, looking slightly older than us, maybe in her late twenties or early thirties. She had long pale brown hair and strikingly blue eyes.  _Just like Spot's…_

"Lucks, meet my aunt Del. Aunt Del meet Lucks." As soon as the words left his mouth I froze. A million things went through my head; I didn't know Spot had  _any_  family, because he never talked about them. I can't believe he's introducing me to his aunt looking like this; had I known beforehand I would've at least dressed nicer and done my hair. If his aunt was here did that mean his mother was near, or did it mean the exact opposite? All these questions swarmed in my head in the passing seconds before her face lit up with excitement.

* * *

"Oh my," she exclaimed as she brought her hand to her chest. "Please do come in!" She was very giddy with joy as we walked in, Spot guiding me where to go.

"So this is the girl who's stolen my nephew's heart? I've heard just how much you mean to him."

"You have?" I questioned as we sat on a couch, she sat just across from us. "You talk about me?" I asked more so to Spot.

"He doesn't have to say much, I've gotten quite good at reading his emotions," she said with a proud smile. "It's just been us ever since he was a baby." I noticed Spot start to get tense.

"Well it's lovely to meet you," I started, trying to change the subject so he would relax. "I didn't know Sean had family in Brooklyn, had I known we were gonna visit you I would've thought about dressing nicer."

"Nonsense, in fact I like how you're dressed; it reminds me of home. Women here seem to not be willing to get a little down in the dirt and grime."

"Where are you from?"

"Home for me is back in Ireland…"

"You're from Ireland?" I rudely interrupted her to ask Spot. I don't know why I was so excited. Maybe just for the fact that they've travelled so far and I've never even left New York.

"I'm not from Ireland, my family is. Home for me will forever be Brooklyn," he explained.

"So you don't know how big your family is?"

"The only family I know of who lives there I don't consider to be family."  _And he's tense again_. He got up and went somewhere in the house, the kitchen I assumed.

"Oh, I'm sorry about him, you know how he gets," she talked with a hushed voice. I could tell she wanted to tell me something but was hesitant to do so. She looked to where Spot left before rushing to take his place beside me.

"You see, his mother, my sister, was pregnant with him before we arrived here. Sean was born about a month or two after we got here; a few days after that his mother got very ill. None of us knew what to do so she stayed in the care of a doctor. When she came back she felt and looked a little better. It wasn't until Sean was around three or four until she got ill again. She was so sure she wasn't going to make it, that she went back home to be with our family," her expression became grim.

"She hasn't pass on, but letters from my brother indicate that she's been bed ridden for quite some time now."

"I'm so sorry," I didn't know what else to say, but it made me genuinely sorry. Here I was just reunited with not just my mother, but both my mother and father. She gently placed her hand on mine and gave a kind smile.

"I wanted to tell you," she said now visibly looking less sad. "Something tells me you're not going anywhere."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the last actual chapter! Epilogue is next. Leave a comment and let me know what you think!


	21. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the epilogue!

Almost two months had passed since the newsie strike and a lot had changed. Spot's aunt Del and I both managed to convince him to see his mother before she died on the condition that I go with him. Of course I agreed; I wasn't about to prevent him from seeing her. We would've left sooner except the money Del's brother provided was only enough for two tickets. That being the case Spot stepped down as leader of Brooklyn to get a job at the navy yard building ships while I helped my mother at the hospital as an assistant. Since we weren't at the lodging house anymore my parents insisted that I stay with them. I haven't slept with Spot since and it's been driving me crazy. I began to crave his touches and warmth at night. He kept reassuring me though that it would all work out in the end…

_"How can you be so certain?" I asked as we walked down the street one afternoon._

_"I's been talkin' to Del," he started taking a slight pause. "She's stayin' in Ireland." I did a double take while stopping in my tracks already having a feeling of where this was going._

_"I don' know 'bout youse but I's don't plan on livin' there and Del knows. She offered her place here when we came back. What'd youse think?" What did I think; I was in love with the idea. I would've told him that but my chest just swelled up as tears came to my eyes. This made him freak out slightly and question what was wrong and if I was all right, but I couldn't answer him, I was too happy. So I cried into his chest in the middle of the sidewalk, my arms wrapped tightly around his strong torso. He hugged me back chuckling in my ear at my response._

* * *

It was now the night before Del, Spot and I traveled to Ireland. I was nervous and was too jittery to fall asleep so I opened the duffle bag my parents gave me and checked through all of my belongings. A knock at my door sounded not long after I had started.

"Come in," I called. My mother walked in with a small smile.

"I thought you'd be up," she said gently as she sat at the end of my bed. "Nervous?" I paused and gave her a slight smirk before resuming.

"How'd you know?"

"Mother's intuition, and because I know going somewhere you've never been can be scary, especially if it's so far away." She took a moment to look at her hands and then around my childhood room.

"I'm going to miss you, you know; me and your father."

"I'll miss you both too. I wish we knew how long we were going to stay so you'd know…" my sentence was left unfinished due to the fact that my mother was now tightly hugging me. She pulled away quickly to wipe at a few fallen tears.

"I'm sorry, I told myself not to get too emotional," she gave a little sniff as she composed herself. "Just know Alyssa, that your father and I love you very much. Ever since your disappearance we started saving money for your education in case we ever found you." At this she pulled out an envelope from her apron pocket and handed it to me. "Hopefully it's enough to start a life wherever you end up." Tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Oh mother I can't take this…"

"Just keep it safe and near you at all times," she said as she placed it in my bag in between shirts and other clothes. She then took my hands in hers so I could look at her.

"Even if you're there for a week, a year or many years, just take it. We want to be able to provide something for you and if this is…if this is the last time we ever see you then that's it." I understood what she meant. Who knows what could happen come tomorrow, that's what was going through her head. I knew what was going to happen though. Spot and I would travel to Ireland so he could say goodbye to his mother, and then we'll travel back to New York to live in Brooklyn. He'll continue work at the navy yard while I work as a nurse at a hospital like my mother. We'll then get married and have a few kids, and just be happy together; just Spot and I and our little family.

That's how I managed to fall asleep, by dreaming sweet dreams of the future. We were going to be happy, I just knew it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all folks! Again I apologize with how long it took me to post the already WRITTEN story I had. I'm quite forgetful sometimes. If you're into Teen Wolf feel free to check out my other story on here, I'm just starting it! Also a sequel is in the works, but I'm taking time with it since I just started writing a new story lol


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